Keep Holding On
by Queen Angie the Unusual
Summary: It was no wonder that Anna and Edmund became friends quickly; in these war-ridden times, they were just two lost souls looking for some companionship. But when they and Edmund's siblings embark on an adventure in a wardrobe, things start to get complicated. Eventual Ed/OC. Book/Movie verse. UNDERGOING MAJOR REVISION as of 7/24/12. See chapter 12 for details.
1. The Evacuation

**A/N****: Thanks for clicking on my story and giving it a chance :) I've been working very hard on it for the last few weeks. Even if I don't add another chapter for a while, I'm still working on it. "No fear!"**

**This story is dedicated to ****my mother, because even though she never tells me she does, I know she's been reading this story as it sits in unedited Word documents on my computer. And even though she'll never read the finished product, I hope it's something she'd be proud of.**

**I only own Anna Pearce and her family. All rights go to the amazing and inspirational C.S. Lewis.**

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><p>Dozens of children were shuffling through the crowed train station on that cold summer's day. Parents and small children were all in tears, while their older siblings were trying hard to keep a brave face. They were all leaving the city to take protection in the country. There it was peaceful. There it was safe.<p>

Among these children was a girl named Anna Pearce. She stood in front of a pretty blonde woman and a little girl who was the spitting image of the woman. The woman was attaching her papers onto Anna's coat very gently, but Anna scowled at her all the same. The little girl looked at Anna lovingly. Despite having her mother's looks, her face was pain-stricken, as if she were sad to be seeing her sister go.

The woman stood up and studied Anna intently. There was a flicker of sadness in her expression, but in the next moment it was gone and the gentle expression returned. She bent down and hugged Anna, but Anna did not hug her back. The woman pulled away and shook her head. She bent down and kissed Anna's head, causing Anna to scowl. She was disgusted by her step mother's pretend affection. She knew this woman all too well; all this was just for show, to make her seem like a good parent.

Anna stared down at her little sister. Heather's eyes were watery and her tiny lip was quivering. She pulled her big sister into a hug, knowing that this would be the last time in a while that she would see her. Although Anna didn't always like little Heather, she still hugged her back. The little girl was quite sweet, despite having a wicked mother.

Anna smiled bravely at her sister and kissed her forehead. Then, she turned to her step mother and gave a small nod. There was no way she would offer this woman any more affection then possible.

Anna turned and shuffled onto the train with the rest of the children. Once on, she found a compartment with the least amount of people in it. The only children in it were two boys who appeared to be twins, and a girl with brown hair who must've been a few years older than herself.

Anna stared out the window and watched the last of the kids get on train. She saw a little girl hug her father, and felt a pang of sadness in her heart.

Anna and her father had always lived a very peaceful life style. They lived in a small house just outside the hustle and bustle of the city, with their chocolate lab, Ruby. Her father would work and she would go to a school in the city. Life was simple, easy, and happy.

Everything changed when her father married Priscilla. Priscilla was a widow and an aristocrat; quite the contrast from her father's simple life. Right after the wedding, Anna, Ruby, and her father all moved into the city to live in Priscilla's large house in the wealthier area of London. Anna's life had changed a great deal after that; she began attending a more prestigious private school instead of her old Catholic school that she had formerly went to. She had a larger bedroom, and Priscilla could afford to buy her nicer dresses (not that Anna would wear them). And her family life was thrown completely upside down.

Priscilla had three children from her late husband (who were all well older than Anna, and their names were William, Helena, and Martin. Anna didn't like them from the moment she met them. They all had a certain air of pretentiousness about them that Anna found to be completely disgusting. And they all looked the same. Priscilla's whole family had the same beautiful face. Even Heather, who was Anna's half-sister, had inherited her mother's golden locks and sea-colored eyes. They were a very attractive family, and Anna was nothing like them.

Anna was a rather simple girl, with no amazing talents to speak of. She had large brown eyes, curly red hair, and the tiniest dusting of freckles on her nose. She was of completely average height and weight of a twelve year old girl (unlike her step sister, who was much too thin for an 18 year old). Her family considered her weird because of her odd quirks and general behavior.

_"She_ is _trying," her father had told her._

_ Anna ripped the bow out of her hair and tore of the uncomfortable shoes that Priscilla had made her wear. She and her step mother had just gotten into a big fight about how Anna should try to act more "polite towards guests." Anna had rushed to her room, crying, after Priscilla had told her to act a bit more mature. Her father had followed her, and was trying his best to comfort her._

_ "She just wants to try to get to know you," he said._

_ "No she doesn't!" Anna cried. "She wants to change me. She wants me to be like Helena, all proper all the time."_

_ "Sweetie, she only wants what's best for you. And she does have a point—you do need to learn to act more mature. Maybe—"_

_ "Oh no, dad, not you too!" she cut him off. "Why are you taking her side? She's trying to change me, dad, and you're just letting her!"_

_ "She's not trying to change you!" Her father wrung his hands in exasperation. "All she wants is for you to live up to your full potential. And, I don't know if you noticed, Anna, but things in this house are changing a lot. We're trying to combine two families, and with William going to university, and the baby on its way…well, you're not making anything easy for anybody. Maybe if you open up to Priscilla, just a little, then everything would be better."_

_ Anna stared at her father in disbelief. He hadn't even raised his voice; he never raised his voice, ever. But he had also never spoken to her like that before. She turned her back to him and fought off fresh tears._

_ "She'll never be my mother," she said, "And I'm not going to change for her."_

_ Her father_ was silent a moment, _and then he sighed and left the room, closing the door behind him._

Anna felt that her step-family did not want anything to do with her. If they spoke to her, it was either to give her orders or criticize her. If she refused to wear one of the dresses her step mother picked out for her (and they were nice dresses and Anna liked them, but not coming from Priscilla), she was stubborn and selfish. If she made a smart comment, she was immature and rude. If she was mean to Heather, they would call her a brat. According to them, Anna was never as polite as William or Martin, never as pretty or as talented as Helena, never as sweet as Heather. All this had led to a bitter resentment to them, to the point where she dreaded being with them all.

Heather didn't have to go with her. She was going to stay with her aunt, who lived just outside of Cambridge. Anna found it horribly unfair that Heather got to stay with family while she had to live with some stranger in the middle of nowhere.

_ "If dad was here, _he_ wouldn't make me go," she had said. "_He'd_ never send me away to some stranger."_

_ "If your father was here, then that would mean that there wouldn't be a war and you wouldn't have to go away," Priscilla had said in a slightly exasperated voice. "And Professor Kirke is a good man. I'm sure you'll have a lovely time."_

_ "Why doesn't _Heather _have to go?" she asked, unable to hide the bitterness in her tone. "Why wasn't _I _allowed to stay with Mathilde, too?"_

_ "Can you please call her Aunt Mathilde? She'd like that so much better than just plain old Mathilde, I think. And you know perfectly well that she doesn't have the room in her house for two children. Besides, Heather is four years old. Being with people she doesn't would upset her."_

_ "That's a lie! Mathilde has a house that's as big as ours. And why is it bad for Heather to be upset, but not me?" _

_ "Because, Anna," her step brother, William, had said, "Heather's a lot younger than you, and she gets upset easily. She's very sensitive and fragile."_

_ "Ha," Anna laughed, "Fragile indeed. That explains why she's always climbing the big tree, running up and down the stairs, jumping rocks on the river you told us not to go near—"_

_ "That's enough, Anna!" Priscilla yelled, but then quickly regained her composure and spoke calmly. "We know that Heather wouldn't go near the river. She doesn't know how to swim."_

_ "Yeah, Heather's not stupid enough to do thing she knows might get her hurt," Anna's other step brother, Martin, said. "_She's_ got some common sense," _Unlike you_, his eyes added._

_ "Oh, so I'm stupid now?" she replied, getting angrier. "Weird, I thought you'd have come up with something better than that. Did I ever mention to you, Martin, that I find you to be an i_nsufferable, foul prat_?"_

_ "Oh, shut up!" her step sister, Helena, had yelled. "You need to quit acting up all the time! Can't you see that you're the reason everyone in this house fights all the time? When are you going to learn to grow up?"_

_That had done it. Anna had marched out of the room and straight outside, to the swing. She refused to speak to any of her family until the days before she left London (and she only talked to them to ask where her suitcase was). _

Now, the train was pulling out of the train station and out into the country. Anna didn't wave to her family. She just sat there, looking at her hands in her lap and trying to ignore the crying coming from the boy across from her.

She and the other kids stayed silent for the entire trip. At the second stop, the two boys got off, leaving her and the brown haired girl alone. They offered each other a small, encouraging smile, but said nothing.

It was hours later when they finally pulled up to Anna's stop. It was a tiny platform on a country road, and Anna saw no signs of anybody. After letting out a small breath and saying a prayer, she left the train, wondering what life was going to be like at Professor Digory Kirke's house.


	2. Meeting the Pevensies

**A/N****: You know, I'm not sure how I feel about Professor Kirke in this chapter. I'm not sur eif he's too OOC, or if I nailed his character. I had to throw in a little something about Professor Kirke, for future reference, and this seemed like the best place to do it. But if he's too OOC, will you guys be wonderful readers and let me know? Don't spare my feelings, I won't be upset if you tell me he is.**

**I only own and Anna and her family.**

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><p>When Anna had heard that Professor Kirke's house was in the middle of nowhere, she though that that meant it was in a small town or something. What it really meant was that his house <em>was <em>in the middle of nowhere. There was nothing there but a small dirt road and the train station.

She stood there with her suitcase and satchel in hand, glancing down the dirt road. There wasn't a car in sight. _Maybe he forgot about me_, she thought nervously. She looked the other way and saw that four other children had gotten off the train. One of them was an older boy, with dirty blonde hair, and one was an older girl with black hair. There was a boy who looked about her age, with black hair, and a little girl with short, reddish hair. They were all whispering, waiting for their own ride to come.

Anna waited for some sign of vehicle. Two minutes, five minutes, ten minutes…the time seemed to go on. Anna was very aware of the four siblings arguing beside her, but she resisted every urge to look at them.

"Excuse me." She turned and saw that the blonde haired boy was speaking to her. "Could you help us out? We were worried that maybe we were mismarked. This is Coombe Halt station, right?"

Anna obviously looked at the sign, which said COOMBE HALT in giant letters. "I believe so," she said.

"I wonder where he is?" the little girl asked.

"Maybe the professor forgot we were coming," the older girl suggested.

Anna felt her brain click. "Professor Kirke?" she asked.

"Yes," the older girl said. "Does he live around here?"

"I certainly hope so," Anna replied, "That's where I'm going, too."

The two older siblings looked at each other oddly, but were cut short by the sound of galloping coming from up the road. The siblings all rushed own the steps, with Anna following close behind.

A stern-looking woman held the reins of a horse. When she led the carriage in front of the station, she looked at them all suspiciously.

"Mrs. Macready?" the older boy asked.

"I'm afraid so," she said in a heavy Irish accent. "Is this it then? Haven't you brought anything else?" she eyed their suitcases carefully.

"No ma'am," the boy replied, "It's just us." The little girl nodded in agreement.

"Small favors," Mrs. Macready said. She nodded her head to the back of the carriage and gestured for them to climb in. They all got in, and Anna hopped up after them. The two older siblings sat on one side with the little girl, and the younger boy sat on another side, by himself. Anna was forced to sit next to him, but she pressed against the side of the carriage to avoid bumping into him.

They were silent for the first few minutes; Anna sat with her head down, trying to avoid the siblings' eyes. Finally, the oldest boy spoke.

"I'm Peter Pevensie," he said, holding out his hand to Anna. "This is Lucy," he gestured to the little girl holding his arm. She shook both their hands, smiling the tiniest bit.

"I'm Susan," the other girl said, shaking Anna's hand. "It's nice to meet you."

"You too," Anna replied. She subconscious glanced at the boy next to her (she really didn't mean to, but she couldn't help but glance). He was looking around, not seeming to be aware of the conversation. Peter and Susan both looked at him in annoyance.

"Ed!" Peter yelled.

"What?" the boy asked obviously annoyed. Peter glanced at Anna, and the boy got the hint.

"I'm Edmund," he said with little enthusiasm. He held out his hand and Anna shook it.

"I'm Anna," she replied. "Nice to meet you all."

They all smiled at her (except for Edmund; he was still staring at the scenery). A few more minutes went by, when the house appeared before them. It was almost as big as a mansion, and it was surrounded by forest. Anna though it looked like a castle in a fairy tale.

Mrs. Macready pulled up in front of the house, and the five children got off. Peter held Lucy's hand tight, and Susan stayed right beside them both. Anna noticed that Edmund didn't walk with his siblings; rather, he stayed a few feet behind them at all times. Anna herself stood awkwardly behind them all, and followed them into the house.

The house was just as amazing inside as it was on the outside. All the doors, trimmings, and stairs were a dark wood, and the walls were covered in paintings. It had a lot of antique decorations, like suits of armor and busts. The layout itself reminded Anna of her own home in London (although it was lacking doilies and other flowery décor). She knew immediately that this was her kind of place.

"Now, as the professor is not accustomed to having children, there are some rules," Mrs. Macready said, leading them up the stairs. "There will be no running, no yelling, no improper use of the dumbwaiter."

Susan reached out to touch a bust of a man, when Mrs. Macready snapped, "NO touching of the historical artifacts." Susan jumped back a step, and then glared daggers at her. The way her siblings snickered, Anna guessed that she wasn't used to getting in trouble.

"But first and foremost," Mrs. Macready said, pausing in front of a door, "There will be no disturbing of the professor," she whispered. The way she said it made Anna think that he was a mean man, someone who didn't like people, let alone kids.

After this, Mrs. Macready turned and led the five children up and flight of stairs and down a hall.

"Here are your rooms," she gestured to two doors opposite each other. "Boys on the right, girls on the left. Remember the rules, and be sure to keep your rooms clean. Dinner is at six." With that, she turned and left them standing in the hall.

Susan, Lucy, and Anna walked into their room. It was a plain room, furnished with two oak beds and a large dresser. There were a few armchairs, a full length mirror in the corner, and a bookshelf filled with large volumes of what appeared to be dictionaries and encyclopedias. Certainly not her preferred genre, Anna thought.

"Well, I guess this is home now," she muttered so quietly that neither Lucy nor Susan heard her.

None of the girls talked as they put their clothes in the dresser. Lucy and Susan finished unpacking rather quickly, and stole to the boys' room, leaving Anna alone. She carefully finished putting her clothes in her drawers, and took out a few personal items out of her satchel. A few of her favorite books, her small drawing book, a worn old teddy bear, and some pictures were all she brought. It wasn't much, but it was enough to bring her comfort while she was surrounded by strangers.

She felt like she was intruding in on the four siblings who were staying with her, even though they were just as new to this place as she was. They already were so close and had their own thing going; Anna was worried that it might be awkward with her being there. She could only hope that eventually, she would come to befriend them.

Anna shrugged at the thought. She wasn't the sort of person who made friends very easily. She had a few good friends—Jane, Marcy, and Louise—but they were school friends only. Anna couldn't remember being invited to their houses even one time. Besides, even they thought her weird sometimes. After all, what twelve year old girl would rather spend her afternoons reading fairytales instead of playing cricket?

She just hoped that making friends with these siblings would be easier.

After a while, Anna headed down to the dining room for dinner. The Pevensie's were already down there, sitting in silence. Peter, Susan, and Lucy were all sitting next to each other, so close they could have been holding hands. Edmund sat on the other side, looking totally bored. Anna slowly entered the room and sat on the same side as Edmund (with a chair separating them), across from Susan.

Nobody spoke at first. The only sound to be heard was that of forks scraping plates and the chewing of Shepard's Pie. The silence was so unnerving that Anna considered asking Peter to pass the pepper just so that there was some noise.

But then, the dining room doors flew open and an old man came in like a gust of wind. Anna actually jumped at the sound of the door opening and hitting the wall behind it.

"Sorry I'm late, chaps," the man said cheerfully. "I got a bit caught up in my book and lost track of time." He took a seat at the head of the table and smiled down at the children. "I didn't miss much did I?"

The children gapped at him. He was unlike anything Anna had ever seen before. He looked to be in his 50s or 60s, maybe a bit more. His white hair stuck up at odd ends all over his head, except at the top, where he was bald. He had round spectacles and blue gray eyes, but they were not mean eyes like Anna was expecting. There was a definite trace of humour in them. He wore a khaki tweed suit and a black tie. Anna thought he looked like Halloween.

"Oh, silly me, I haven't introduced myself," he said. "I'm Professor Digory Kirke. Ah, but you can just call me professor." He chuckled at some joke that none of the kids got. "Now, about yourselves…" He held a hand out to Peter.

Peter's eyes narrowed slightly, but he shook the man's hand all the same. "Peter Pevensie…sir."

"What was that?" the professor asked. "Sorry, son, I didn't quite make out what you said. I'm old and hard at hearing; you'll have to speak up a bit."

"I'm Peter Pevensie, sir," Peter said a bit louder (maybe even too loud).

The professor smiled. "Nice to meet you, Peter. And you, dear?" He held out a hand to Lucy.

"I'm Lucy," she said, smiling lightly. The professor shook her hand like he was shaking the hand of the Queen.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Lucy," he said. Lucy's smile widened.

"I'm Susan," the dark haired girl said when it was her turn. "It's nice to meet you, sir."

"And you as well, my dear," the professor replied. He held out a hand to Anna.

"I'm Anna, sir. Anna Pearce," she said carefully.

"Ah, Anna Pearce, is it," the professor said thoughtfully. "I do believe I've had the pleasure of meeting your father. He is the literary critic from London, is he not?"

"That's right," Anna replied, starting to warm up to the professor.

"Ah, well…he is a very nice man," he said. "Now, why don't you move yourself next to this young man here so that I can hear you a bit better while we talk? I'm very old and a bit hard at hearing, as I may have said before."

He gestured to the seat right next to Edmund. Anna's eyes narrowed and she almost considered not doing it by the look on Edmund's face. But she didn't want to say no to the professor, so she slid her plate over and moved to the seat next to Edmund's without meeting his eyes.

"And, speaking of this young man," the professor held his hand out to Edmund. "What's your name, son?"

Edmund managed a pleasant face for a moment and shook the professor's hand. "I'm Edmund…Pevensie. Edmund Pevensie…sir."

The professors smiled. "It's very nice to meet you, Edmund. Now," he clapped his hands loudly, and Anna flinched. He was loud for an old man. "Could someone please pass the Shepard's pie, and while you're at it, why don't you kids tell me a bit about yourselves? But don't forget to speak up; I'm old and hard at hearing, you know."

And that was how supper went that night. The professor filled the room with conversation and laugher and the children couldn't help but like him. He was the sort of man that one likes instinctively; they just have an air about them that makes you want to hear them talk more and more. He asked them a million different questions. What were their ages? What did their parents do? Had they ever been to the country before? Had that met Mrs. Macready yet? Had they met Ivy, Margret, and Betty? What did they want to be when they grew up? What were their favourite foods? What sort of books did they like?

He talked to Anna about her father a bit. Since he was a literary professor, he had met Anna's father a few times at university lectures and conferences, but wasn't overly acquainted with him. He wanted to know all about what he was up too, how Priscilla and Heather were doing (he referred to them as "his new wife and the baby"), and if he had told Anna anything about the novel he was writing. When Anna said no, he hadn't, the professor actually blushed.

"Oops, my slip," he chuckled. "Well, you didn't hear it from me!"

Just as they were all starting on their cherry pie, the professor pulled out his pocket his pocket watch. His eyes widened.

"By the Lion!" he exclaimed. He stood up abruptly, and the table rattled a bit. "Sorry to leave you during dessert, kids, but I best be back to my work. There doesn't seem to be enough time in the day, I suppose. Cheerio!"

And with that, the professor pivoted on his foot and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. With him left the conversation, the laughter, and the noise. They finished their pie in silence. Anna stared at the door in shock for a few moments after he left. He seemed very spontaneous for someone in his years.

Anna scrunched her nose as she thought. What did the professor say about a lion? _By_ the Lion? That was certainly a funny expression. But then again, he was a funny sort of person. She had a feeling that she would come to like this professor very much.

The silence carried on for the rest of the night. The girls spent all their time in the boys' room, and Anna sat in the girls' room reading. When it was getting late, Anna went into the bathroom and brushed her teeth. As she was coming back, she heard voices coming from her room. She only heard the end of the conversation before she entered.

"Isn't it time you went off to bed?"

"Yes, _mum_."

"Ed!"

Anna froze in her tracks. She stood there for a while, waiting to see if some sort of fight would break out, but thankfully, none did. Peter and Edmund walked out of the girls' room. After a stern look from Peter, Edmund went into the boys' room. Peter glanced up at Anna, and then turned and walked into the drawing room just down the hall.

Anna slowly headed into her room to see Susan speaking gently to Lucy. Lucy looked sad, but smiled after Susan said something. She gave her little sister a kiss on the head, glanced at Anna, and left the room.

As she lay in bed that night, she couldn't help but worry a bit. The other children didn't seem to like her at all—Edmund had actually _glared _at her when she sat by him. She sighed.

"Well, I suppose we'll learn to like each other," she said quietly to herself, "because we're stuck here for the rest of the summer hols."


	3. The Hide and Seek Game

**A/N****: I did a tiny bit of revision on this chapter. Nothing major, but just some little things I wasn't satisfied with. I don't think any authors are ever completely satisfied with their stories. Is it just me, or are other people like that, too?**

**Also, I think that this is the shortest chapter in this story, in general even. Sorry, I just couldn't think of anything else to add!**

**I only own Anna Pearce.**

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><p>The next day brought bad weather to the Professor's house. It was raining when Anna woke up, and it didn't stop all day. She was really looking forward to being outside in the country, but she obviously couldn't go outside if it was pouring down rain.<p>

The Pevensie's and Anna were in the drawing room, trying to keep themselves entertained. Lucy was staring out a window, watching the rain. Susan was quizzing Peter about words in the dictionary (Anna had no idea what any of them meant). Edmund was lying under a chair, clearly bored. Anna herself was sitting in an armchair, reading one of the books she brought with her.

"Gastro vascular," Susan read. Peter obviously wasn't paying much attention, so he didn't answer.

"Come on, Peter," she snapped, "Gastro vascular."

Peter sighed. "Is it Latin?"

"Yes," Susan replied.

"Is it Latin for 'worst game ever invented'?" Edmund asked.

Anna snorted at this, but Susan obviously wasn't amused. She glared at Edmund and slammed the dictionary shut. At this time, Lucy crossed over to where the others sat.

"We could play hide and seek," she suggested.

"But we're already having so much fun," Peter said sarcastically. Anna laughed again. She really liked these kids' sense of humor.

"Come one, Peter! Please?" Lucy begged, getting an eye roll from Edmund. She jutted out her lip into a perfect pouting face. "Please?" she said sweetly.

Peter smiled the tiniest bit. "One, two, three," he counted. Lucy broke out into a wide grin.

"What!" Edmund complained.

In a second, all four of the other children were up and searching for the perfect hiding spot. Anna was actually quite fond of the game hide and seek; she always claimed to be the champ.

She searched everywhere she could for the perfect hiding spot. There were a good many places to hide, but they were all places she was sure Peter would check. She became panicked when she heard Peter had already counted to ninety. She quickly rounded the corner and saw some gathered curtains she could hide in. She pulled them apart and started to walk in when she ran into another body.

"Hey!" Edmund yelled. "Watch out! This is my spot."

"Sorry!" Anna replied, closing the curtains back around him.

She looked around franticly for a place to hide. She darted down the hall and around another corner, and watched as Lucy darted into a door. Anna figured she could hide with her. She started to open the door just as Peter was shouting, "Ready or not, here I come!"

Suddenly, Lucy came bursting through the door and nearly knocked Anna over. She was shouting, "It's alright, I'm back!"

"Wait, Lucy, don't!" Anna started after her as she ran down the hall.

"It's ok, I'm alright!" she continued to yell.

Edmund pulled apart the curtains so Anna could only see his face. "Shut up, he's coming!"

Peter rounded the corner and saw the three younger children all standing out in the open. Edmund sighed and rolled his eyes at Lucy.

"You know, I'm not sure you all quite get the idea of this game," Peter said.

"Weren't you wondering where I was?" Lucy asked, confused.

"That's the _point_," Edmund said, "That's why he was seeking you."

Susan darted around the corner and joined the conversation with, "Does this mean I win?"

"I don't think Lucy wants to play anymore," Peter said.

"I've been…gone for _hours_," Lucy said.

"No you weren't," Anna said quietly. "You were only in that room a few seconds. I was right behind you the whole time."

Peter and Susan looked at each other, and then back at Lucy. "What happened, Lu?" Peter asked.

"I...I..." she stuttered, as if she was unable to comprehend what just happened. "I went into the wardrobe, a-and there was a woods, a-and I met a faun, named Mr. Tumnus, a-and it was winter, and there was snow, and…don't look at me like that! It was there! There was a woods inside of the wardrobe!"

Anna was listening very intently at Lucy's description of the place she had been. It was impossible, her mind was telling her that much, but Anna was very open to this idea. She had always liked fairy tales that told of impossible things, such as this. She wanted to see this place for herself.

The two older kids looked at each other again. "Show us," Peter said.

Lucy led the way into the spare room she had been hiding in. Inside was nothing but a single window and a large wardrobe. A quick investigation by Susan and Edmund confirmed that there were no woods inside it, to both Lucy's and Anna's disappointed.

"Lucy, the only woods in here is the back of the wardrobe," Susan told the girl.

"One game at a time, Lu," Peter said, "We don't all have your imagination."

Lucy's three siblings started to walk towards the door. Anna hesitated a moment, but soon followed them.

"But I wasn't imagining!" Lucy yelled.

Her siblings all turned back to face her, clearly exasperated. "That's enough, Lucy," Susan said.

"I wouldn't lie about this!" Lucy yelled, rather close to tears.

"Well I believe you," Edmund said, stepping forward.

"You…do?" Lucy asked doubtfully.

"Yeah, of course," he continued, "Didn't I tell you about the football field in the bathroom cupboard?"

Anna found the joke rather funny, but she didn't dare laugh. All she did was crack a tiny smile, which Edmund noticed

"Oh, will you just stop," Peter said to him. "You have to make everything worse, don't you?"

"It's just a joke!" Edmund said.

"When are you going to learn to grow up?" Peter asked.

Even though the words were not directed towards her, Anna felt them as if they were. They were the same words her step sister, Helena, had used on her just before she came to live here. The way Peter spoke to Edmund was the same way her older siblings spoke to her. The only difference was, Anna had step-siblings, and they didn't have to like her. She felt a sudden anger towards Peter, and a deep empathy towards Edmund.

"Shut up!" Edmund yelled, "You think you're dad, but you're not!" With this, he stormed out of the room.

Susan gave Peter an annoyed look. "Well that was nicely handled," she said, following Edmund out of the room.

Peter sighed and met Anna's eyes for a moment. She wasn't sure what kind of look she gave him, but she hoped it was a mean one. She marched out of the room and headed in the direction Susan went. When she caught up with her, Susan was tapping on the boy's bedroom door.

"Edmund," she was saying, "Edmund, please come out. Peter didn't mean it. You know how he is."

"Go away," Edmund grumbled from the other side of the door.

"Please, Edmund, come out of there," Susan tried again.

"Go away!" Edmund yelled.

Susan sighed. "Honestly, that boy is as stubborn as the day is long." She turned to Anna. "I'm sorry you had to see that. We're not usually like that, but being away from home is really…making everyone act different."

"It's alright," Anna replied, "I'm used to it, trust me."

Susan looked like she was going to ask her what she meant, but thankfully, she didn't. "Well, if he comes out of there, can you please send him to the drawing room?"

"Sure," Anna said. Susan smiled at her and walked down the hall and around the corner. Anna stood there for a few moments, and then slowly knocked on the bedroom door.

"I said go away, Susan—"Edmund yanked open the door and stopped midsentence when he saw Anna standing there. "Oh."

"Um, hi Edmund," Anna said. They stood there in awkward silence for a few seconds until Edmund spoke.

"What do you want?" he asked. His expression was unpleasant, and Anna felt slightly uncomfortable. What was she going to say? The words that came out of her mouth were the first ones she could think of.

"Um, listen," she said, looking down, "I'm…sorry for the way Peter talked to you. It's not your fault he's not very nice. I understand where you're coming from; my family thinks need to act more mature, too. You seem very nice, I think. So, if you ever need anybody to talk too…"

Anna met his eyes, and was surprised. Edmund was looking at her intently, his unpleasant expression slowly melting. He didn't give Anna more than a nod as a reply, and slowly closed the door in her face. Anna let out a sigh, feeling like more of an outsider than she ever had before.

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><p><strong>Review? :}<strong>


	4. Befriending Edmund

**A/N: There is a bit of foreshadowing in this one, but I'll let you figure out what it is :)) I don't think there's anything else to say, really...**

**I own nothing except Anna Pearce.**

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><p>The rest of the afternoon was quite. Lucy and Edmund stayed in their respective rooms and refused to come out. Susan, Peter, and Anna all sat in the drawing room in total silence. When it was almost time for dinner, Anna went downstairs and took her place at the table.<p>

As the four Pevensie's came downstairs, something surprised Anna. Instead of Susan sitting across from her, Edmund took her place. He glanced at Anna as he sat down, but didn't speak to her. Susan looked surprised to see her brother sitting there, but quietly sat next to Anna.

Susan and Peter were doing the only talking during dinner. They tried to include Lucy, but the little girl only nodded and responded with as little words as she could get away with. Edmund and Anna didn't talk at all, but Anna was very aware of Edmund sitting across from her. She could feel him watching her; not glaring or giving her odd looks, but just simply watching. Normally, this would have made her rather uncomfortable, but for some reason it didn't.

After they finished eating, the five children went into the drawing room. Anna sat comfortably at one end of the sofa with her book, and (to her surprise) Edmund sat at the other end. They looked at each other for a few seconds, and then Anna went back to her book. She could still feel him watching her, but she tried to ignore and focus on the story she was reading. It was describing the main character, when Anna came upon a word she didn't recognize.

"Susan?" she said.

"Yes?" Susan answered from her seat by the window.

"What does…pre-cauctious mean?"

"You mean precocious?" Edmund asked.

Anan looked up, surprised, and nodded. "Yes, I think that's how it's pronounced."

"It's when you get certain skills at an early age. You know, like someone who's really smart when they're six," Edmund said.

"Ah, that makes sense then," Anna replied, "Thank you." With that, Anna turned back down to her book.

She felt Edmund watch her for a few seconds, and he asked, "What are you reading?"

"It's called _Beauty and the Beast_," Anna said, pointing to the cover, "Haven't you ever heard of it?"

Edmund shook his head. "No, I haven't. What's it about?"

"Well, it's basically about a girl who comes to live in a castle owned by a horrible beast," Anna explained.

Edmund looked confused. "Why would she do that?"

"She didn't _want_ too, but the beast was holding her father prisoner. The only way he'd set her free is if she'd stay with him."

"Oh," Edmund said, "So, what did the beast do to her? Did he eat her or something?"

Anna laughed. "No, nothing like that. He was mean to her at first, but after living there for a while, she became friends with him," Anna told him.

"He held her prisoner and was mean to her, but she still became friends with him?" Edmund said, eyebrows raised. "Is she mental or something?"

Anna laughed again. "No, she wasn't mental," she smiled the tiniest bit and looked down at the cover of the book. "She was…quite different from other people, really. Despite the beast's mean and tough outside, she knew that deep down, he was rather sweet. Unlike other people, who only saw him as a horrible monster, she could see kindness in him. She knew that he was just different, just like her, and that all he really needed was a friend."

Anna looked up and saw Edmund looking at her intently, as if he wanted her to go on. He smiled the tiniest bit, and said. "It…sounds like a good book. Could I…maybe read it when you're done?"

"Sure, of course you can," Anna replied. She was quite happy he wanted to read it. No one else she knew had read it, so she would finally have someone to talk about it with.

Edmund smiled a genuine smile. "Thanks."

Anna returned his smiled, and she felt very happy. Maybe she would have a real friend yet.

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><p>Edmund thought that his time at the professor's house was going to be boring and aggravating. He was not looking forward to spending each and every day stuck in a house with <em>Peter <em>in charge, with absolutely nothing to do. And then he met Anna.

When he first saw her, his first impression was that she was just like his other girls he knew; girly, boring, and a know-it-all. When she had spoken to him after his fight with Peter, he thought she was crazy and closed the door in her face. After he thought about it for a while, tough, he realized that she did seem genuinely concerned for him, and that made him feel warm inside.

He sat across for her at dinner and watched her every move, and was surprised. She ate and sat different than other girls he had seen. While his sisters ate small bites and sat up perfectly straight, she ate in big bites and sat comfortably in her chair. It wasn't the king of way most girls presented themselves, and that surprised Edmund.

After dinner, he sat on the sofa with her and watched her read. She would mouth the words as she read them, and made funny expressions. It was quite an amusing sight, and Edmund had to try very hard not to smile. He asked her what she was reading, and when he found out it was _Beauty and the Beast_, he was utterly disappointed. Girls in his class had read it, and they claimed it was "by far the best love story ever!" Edmund despised love stories, and he knew that _Beauty and the Beast _was a famous one. Still, he pretended like he had no idea what it was, just to see what she thought of the book. He was completely surprised at her answer.

She never once called it a love story. She only told him that it was about a girl who wanted to save her father and ended up becoming friends with the beast. All the girls in his class told him that the girl loved the beast because he was a prince, but Anna never said that. She told him that the girl became friends the beast because she knew that deep down, he was a good person and needed a friend. Edmund liked the way Anna told it better than the girls in his class. He was actually hoping she'd finish it soon, so he could start reading it.

He enjoyed the way she talked and laughed. She wasn't annoying and loud the way other girls in his class were. She didn't speak rudely or overly politely. In fact, she spoke to Edmund as if the two of them had been friends for years, and he liked that.

It wasn't until the next day, though, that Edmund would be truly amazed by Anna. He was walking down the hall (pretty much just wandering around), when he rounded the corner and saw Anna standing there, looking up at the wall. Just looking at the wall. He immediately raised an eyebrow at this, and slowly cleared his throat so she knew he was there. She glanced at him, smiled, and then went back to staring at the wall.

"Hello Edmund," she said cheerfully.

"Uh, hi," he replied, "What are you doing?"

She glanced at him again, and then at the wall. "I'm just admiring the wallpaper. It has quite an unusual pattern."

Edmund raised his eyebrow again. She was admiring the wallpaper? He had never seen a girl—or anybody, quite frankly—interested in wallpaper. He slowly walked over and stood beside her, looking at the wallpaper with a slight bit of curiosity.

"See," she pointed to the designs running up the wall. "It kind of looks like a forest, don't you think? I've never seen anything like it."

Edmund cocked his head at the wall and really looked at it. The wallpaper did look like it had a forest design, and it was fairly intricate. "Ya, I guess it does," he said.

The two kids stared at it for a few more seconds, and then Anna walked down the hall a ways. Edmund followed her, and saw that she had paused in front of a painting hanging there. He saw that she had a slight smile on her face, and was looking at the painting lovingly.

"It's interesting, isn't it?" she asked as a rhetorical question.

Edmund cocked his head at the painting, not finding it to be that interesting. It was just of a group of women who were having a picnic in a forest. He looked at Anna, and then back at the painting.

"What's so special about it?" he asked.

Anna looked at him as if the answer was obvious. "It tells their story," she said.

Edmund still wasn't following, and Anna could see that.

"You see her?" Anna asked, pointing to the little girl who was sitting on her mother's lap on the painting. "She's really a princess, but she doesn't know it. Everyone else knows, but they can't tell her until she's ready."

Edmund looked at Anna funny, but she continued. "That's her mother," she pointed to the woman holding the little girl, "She's trying to keep her daughter safe from people who want to kill her and take her throne. And all those other women are her aunts."

Edmund stared at the painting, and then looked at Anna with his eyebrows lowered. "How do you know this?"

Anna smiled, but didn't look away from the painting. "I'm making it up. That's what's fun about paintings—you can make up fun little stories that go with them."

Edmund thought for a moment, and then pointed to a woman on the painting. The woman was bitter-looking, with her arms crossed and a scowl on her face (plus, Edmund thought that she was the most unattractive of all the women).

"What about her?" he asked, "Is she the villain?"

Anna studied the woman carefully a moment, the shook her head. "No, she's not. Actually, _she _is." She pointed to a woman who was staring at the little girl with a wide, friendly grin (Edmund thought that she was rather pretty, for a woman in a painting).

"How is she the villain? She looks happier than all of them," he said.

"She may seem nice on the outside, but really, she's as cold as freshly fallen snow," Anna said. "She's actually coming up with a plan to kill the princess and take the throne for herself. She tries to make herself seem nice so that the others don't get suspicious. That woman," she pointed the frowning lady, "Is actually trying to protect the princess more than anyone else. You see, the princess's mother asked her to protect her from harm, because she trusts her more than her other sisters. Even though she isn't the friendliest of all the women, she is the most loyal and would die for the princess."

"So the one lady looks nice, but she's mean, and the other lady looks mean but is actually nice?" Edmund asked. "I've never heard of anything like that."

"Not everyone is as they appear," Anna said simply.

Edmund watched Anna intently for a few moments, and he couldn't help smiling a tiny bit. She almost didn't have to think to think as she told the painting's story; the words rolled off her tongue effortlessly. He was rather amazed that she could get all that from a simple painting of women having a picnic.

"So…what happens to the princess then?" he asked.

Anna thought for a moment, and the said, "Her aunt will die protecting her from her other aunt, but in the end she will realize who she is and that she is responsible for a kingdom. She'll be a good queen I think. She understands the people better than other rulers because she's been in their shoes."

They were silent for a moment, until Edmund said, "I like that story."

"Thank you," Anna replied.

Anna smiled at him, and he smiled back. He could definitely get used to having her around.

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><p><strong>Did anyone pick up my foreshadowing? If not...well, that's ok, too.<strong>

**Review Please! **


	5. What Edmund Saw

**A/N: REVISED. So, I'll be switching back and forth between Edmund and Anna's POV alot in the upcoming chapters. I'm sure most of you are intelligant enough to notice this, but I just thought I'd put it out there.**

**I own nothing but Anna Pearce.**

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><p>Over the next few days, Anna would come to like the Pevensie children very much. Lucy reminded her of Heather in a way, except that she was a lot easier to get along with. Susan was always kind to her and acted as an older sister (the sister she wished Helena was to her). She really didn't speak to Peter. She got the feeling that he didn't like her much. And then there was Edmund.<p>

Edmund was her favorite out of all of the Pevensies. After she had told him the painting story, they had become almost inseparable; being with each other from the time they got up until it was time to go to bed. She enjoyed his company a lot; she thought that he was very funny and a lot of fun to be around. The two of them did everything, from wandering around the house, to just sitting in one of the many rooms and talking.

Edmund had asked her to tell him painting stories a few other times, and he always smiled after she had told it. After a while, he started to come up some stories of his own, and Anna thought that he was very good at it.

"Every day the girl comes to the field and meets the fairies that live there. She becomes good friends with them, and she's the only human they trust. But, one day, the fairies don't come, and the girl never sees them again. That's why she looks so sad," Anna told him. They were looking at a painting of a girl sitting beneath a tree, who, Anna claimed, had a sad expression of her face.

"That's just one side of the story, though," Edmund said, "What the girl doesn't know was that the fairies had been at war with another group of evil fairies, and that the night before there had been a bloody battle that killed all of them. The girl thinks that fairies just don't trust her anymore, but really, they all had died fighting for peace."

Anna looked at Edmund, and nodded. "Yeah, I think you're right, that is what happened," she smiled, and finished with, "That's a good story."

When they weren't telling each other incredible stories or running around the house, they liked to just sit and talk to each other. It was during one of these times that they both realized how much they had in common.

"So, do you have any brothers and sisters, or is it just you?" Edmund asked, his faced stuffed with sweets they had managed to swipe form the kitchen. They were both crammed in the cubby hole just outside of the boy's room, trying to stuff as many sweets down their throats as they could before they were caught.

"Well, I have two step brothers and a step sister, but they're all at university. And I have a half-sister named Heather. She's four," Anna explained.

"Why isn't she here, too?" Edmund asked.

Anna stuffed a few sweets in her mouth, and said, "She's staying at her aunt's house because _she's _the favorite child. I wasn't allowed to go because my step-mother despises me. She thinks that everything I do is wrong and everything Heather does is right."

"I know just what you mean," Edmund said, "My mum think's that Peter is the golden boy and that he does nothing wrong. And Lucy never gets in trouble because she's too sweet and little. Susan's alright, but she usually just agrees with whatever mum says."

"What's Peter like? I haven't really talked to him," Anna asked.

"Peter sort of likes to think he's in charge of everyone," Edmund explained. "He tried to take on the role of man of the house after our father left. He's pretty bossy, too," he smiled a bit, and finished with, "I think he's a right pain in the arse."

"Edmund!" Anna hit him in the arm and giggled at his bad word. Edmund just snickered and ate a few more sweets.

The next day, Anna learned that what Edmund said was true, though. The two of them were upstairs, trying to think of something to do when it happened.

"What do you want to play?" Anna asked.

"Hmm…how about, you have to try and get your scarf from me," Edmund said, pulling her scarf form around her neck and running down the hall.

"Hey!" she laughed, chasing after him.

They had run down several hallways when she had jumped on his back trying to get her scarf back. He held it away from her, and had to try hard not fall over with her weight on his back. She made a loud squeaking sound as she fell off his back and onto the floor. Edmund doubled over in laugher, and then helped her up. It was then that Peter found them, looking angry.

"You two need to be quiet," he ordered, "I could hear you all the way from the drawing room."

"But she was just trying get her scarf back," Edmund said, holding up Anna's scarf.

"Give it back to her, Ed," Peter said.

"But we were just playing around!" Edmund replied.

"Ed!"

With a grumble and an eye roll, Edmund gave Anna back her scarf. She reluctantly took it, because she was having fun chasing after him for it.

"Maybe you should find something quieter to do," Peter suggested, annoyance clear in his voice.

He turned and started to walk away, and Edmund stuck his tongue out to him, and Anna laughed. Peter stopped and turned back around, giving them both a death glare. Only after he had completely walked away did both kids really laugh.

"Well, so much for that game," Anna said. "What should we do now?"

Edmund thought for a moment, and the said, "Why don't you go get your drawing book from the sitting room and meet me in the cubby hole. We can make up another story."

"Good idea!" Anna replied.

She quickly made her way to the sitting room, but stopped just outside the doorway. Inside, she heard the hushed voices of Peter and Susan. Her father had always taught her that it was bad to eavesdrop, and she probably would have just turned the other way ordinarily, but she heard part the conversation and made very clearly her and Edmund's name. So, considering this to be a fine excuse to listen in, she hid just around the corner and began to listen to their conversation.

"I don't see what the problem is," Susan was saying. "He's just having fun with his new friend."

"And it'd be fine of his idea of fun wasn't running wild or making rude remarks. He's deliberately doing stupid things because his little girlfriend thinks it's funny!" Peter said.

"He may be, but at least he's smiling again. He's obviously happy to have someone his age around who he can play with," Susan asked.

"That's because she's just like him. I've heard some of her sly little comments, and they're just the kind of things that Edmund would say," Peter said.

"Anna's not a bad kid, Peter. She just needs a firm hand, is all," Susan said.

"Firm hand or not, I don't think that she and Edmund should spend so much time together," Peter replied.

"You can't just stop them from being friends, Peter. It doesn't work that way," Susan said.

"Watch me," Peter retorted.

At this point, Anna couldn't take much more. She stepped into the room so that both Peter and Susan could see her. When Peter saw her, his eyes widen.

"Anna, I—"

Anna didn't stick around to listen. She shook her head at Peter and rushed out of the room, anger surging through her. She completely ignored Edmund as she trudged into her room and slammed the door shut.

She couldn't believe what she had overheard. She and Edmund were doing nothing wrong. Edmund was her friend, and she certainly wasn't going to give him up because Peter said so.

"Anna, are you alright?" Edmund asked, entering the room. He looked rather concerned for her.

Anna looked at him for a few seconds, and then sighed. "Yes, I'm alright." She stood up and allowed a small smile to creep to her lips.

"You're right; Peter is a right pain in the arse."

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><p>The day ended the same way it always did the professor's house. Lucy, Edmund, and Anna all went to bed at 9:30, and Susan and Peter went to bed at 10. The weather forecast for tomorrow said that it would be sunny and warm, so everyone was excited to be going outside the next day.<p>

Anna had told Edmund what Peter had said. He was mad at his brother, and refused to speak to him for the rest of the night. Anna did feel bad about that. She didn't want to create anymore resentment among the two of them, but she felt that Edmund had a right to know what Peter was saying about the two of them being friends. Edmund assured her that he didn't care what Peter thought, and that they would still be friends. Anna had smiled at that.

She was slowly falling asleep when she heard Lucy get out of her bed and leave the room quietly (most likely to use the bathroom, Anna thought). Her last thought before she fell asleep was that she was happy to have a friend like Edmund.

"Wake up, wake up!"

Anna had felt like she was only asleep for a few seconds when she heard Lucy's squeals throughout the house. She sat straight up; her red curls a wild mess. Susan was already out the door, and Anna followed close behind.

When they entered the boy's room, Lucy was jumping on Peter, who still appeared to be half asleep. Edmund was standing there awkwardly, rubbing his eyes.

"Wake up, Peter!" Lucy was yelling. "It's there, it's really there!"

"What are you talking about, Luce?" he asked.

"Narnia; It's all in the wardrobe just like I told you!" she said.

"You've just been dreaming, Lucy," Susan said, trying to get the little girl to off her brother.

"But I haven't!" Lucy said. "I saw Mr. Tumnus again. And this time, _Edmund _was there, too!"

All their eyes went to Edmund, who had been standing by his bed. He got a slightly panicked look on his face.

"You went there?" Anna asked. Edmund looked at her, but didn't reply.

"You…saw the faun?" Peter asked. Edmund quickly shook his head.

"_Well_, he didn't exactly go there with me," Lucy explained. She suddenly got a weird look on her face, and turned to her brother. "What _were _you doing there, Edmund?"

All eyes went to Edmund again, and he only hesitated a moment before he began.

"I was…just playing along," he said. "I'm sorry, Peter. I shouldn't have encouraged her. But, you know what little children are like these days. They just don't know when to stop pretending." With a satisfied smirk, he sat down on his bed.

Meanwhile, Lucy had been on the verge of tears. At her brother's last remark, she had sad tears rolling down her face. She let out a sob and ran from the room just as Edmund was standing back up. Susan sighed and quickly followed her. Peter jolted up and was quickly behind them. On his way out, he pushed Edmund roughly onto his bed.

"Ow!" Edmund cried.

Anna looked sadly at Edmund, and then at the door, trying to decide whether to stay with him or to follow the others. She ultimately chose to stay with Edmund, and sat next to him on his bed.

"What _happened_, Edmund?" she asked him.

He looked panicked for a moment, but he quickly recovered and said, "Well, I saw Lucy turning around the corner as I was leaving the bathroom. I followed her into the spare room with the wardrobe in it, and saw her sitting in it, sort of talking to herself. I played along for a little bit, until we decided we should probably go back to bed. I didn't think she'd go off about it, though"

"So there _wasn't _a forest inside the wardrobe?" Anna asked.

Edmund studied her for a few moments, and the said, "No, there wasn't a forest."

"Oh," Anna said, feeling once again disappointed. She brought her knees to her chest and sighed. "Too bad, huh? That would make for a good story."

Edmund smiled a bit. "Yeah, I guess it would."

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><p>Edmund hadn't wanted to lie to Anna. Quite the opposite, actually; he wanted to tell her all about what had happened. But for some reason, looking at her, he couldn't bring himself to do it. It wasn't because he didn't think she'd believe him; he knew full well that she would. He just couldn't make out the words. Maybe when he went back to find the Queen, he would bring Anna along and introduce her. The Queen had said that Anna could come too, if she wanted.<p>

The Queen had been telling Edmund all about how she would like to make him the Prince of Narnia, maybe even king when he was older. He quite liked this lady (she had given him Turkish Delight, his favorite treat in the world), and definitely wouldn't mind being a king.

"Of course, you'd have to bring your family," she said.

"Oh, do you mean…that Peter would be king, too?" he asked. He wasn't sure he would like being king if _Peter _had to be one, too.

"No, no, no," the Queen said. "But a king needs servants."

Edmund smiled at the thought of Peter serving him Turkish Delight while he sat on his throne. "I guess I could bring them," he said.

The Queen smiled at him, when suddenly something occurred to him. "Um, you majesty?"

"Yes, Edmund?" she replied, fluttering her eyelashes.

"Well, you see, I…I have this friend, named Anna," he explained, "And, well, she would probably like this place a lot, so…could I maybe bring her, too?"

The Queen looked at her dwarf, and then back at Edmund, a confused look on her face. "You mean there's another Daughter of Eve?"

"Well, yes, but I think her mother's name is Priscilla," Edmund explained.

The Queen confused look disappeared and was replaced by a sweet smile. "Of course you can bring her, Edmund. After all, every king," she poked his nose, "Needs a queen."

"What? No, no," Edmund said, his face turning red. "No, Anna's just my friend."

The Queen laughed a bit. "It's alright, dear. I'm just teasing you. But please, feel free to bring her along."

After this, she had shown Edmund where her house was and bid him a farewell. And then he met Lucy in the woods, they had went back through the wardrobe, and the all the events previously described occurred.

Edmund felt bad about lying to Anna, but he already decided that when he went back to meet the Queen again, he would bring her along. He was sure the Queen would like her, and he knew that Anna would love Narnia. He blushed the tiniest bit thinking about how the Queen had teased him about making Anna his queen. Anna was just his friend, nothing more. He had to admit, though; Anna would make a very good queen.

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><p><strong>P.S. I really don't think that Peter is a pain in the arse. It's purefully for story purposes!<strong>


	6. The Wintery World of Narnia

**A/N: Finally! Now we get to Narnia! Enjoy :)**

**I only own Anna; nothing else is mine.**

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><p>The next day was just as nice as the radio said it would be. The five children of Professor Kirke's house found themselves outside, enjoying the warm sun. Susan, Peter, and Edmund were in the middle of a game of cricket, and Lucy and Anna were sitting in the shade of a tree. Lucy was reading, but Anna was lying on her back, looking at the leaves and the spots of sky that were visible through the tree tops.<p>

"Anna," Lucy said, "What's…that word?" She pointed to a word in her book.

"Reluctant," Anna answered without sitting up. "It means unwilling."

"Thank you," Lucy said. A few seconds of silence passed until Lucy piped up again.

"Anna?" she said.

"Hmm?" Anna replied, ripping up a leaf in her hands.

"Do you…I mean, do you think..." Lucy sighed. "Do you believe me, about Narnia?"

Anna looked at Lucy and sat up. She so desperately wanted to believe her. She didn't think that Lucy was the kind of kid to lie, and Anna stilled loved the notion of a magical land. Still, though, Edmund had told her that her that they were just playing around, and she didn't think Edmund would lie to her about something like this.

"I believe that anything's possible if you want it to be," Anna said simply. Lucy smiled lightly and both girls returned to their respective activities (Anna still had to finish ripping apart that leaf). After a while, she looked up to see what the other three kids were doing

"Ow!" Edmund yelled as he was hit by a cricket ball.

"Whoops!" Peter laughed. "Wake up, Dolly Daydream."

Edmund scowled at his brother. "Why can't we play hide and seek again?" (Anna saw Lucy roll her eyes at this).

"I thought you said it was a kids' game," Peter pointed out.

"Besides," Susan said, "We could all use the fresh air."

"It's not liked there isn't air inside," Edmund said. Anna giggled quietly at this.

"Are you ready?" Peter asked, getting ready to pitch again.

"Are you?" Edmund replied, getting ready to hit. Anna crossed her fingers for him.

Peter ran forward and pitched the ball to Edmund. Edmund hit it all right—and it went sailing straight into one of the upstairs windows. First, there was the sound of shattering glass; and then the sound of something heavy crashing to the ground inside. Anna put her hand over her mouth, and Lucy just gapped at the scene.

All five kids ran inside to investigate the damage. The cricket ball had hit a heavy suit of armor, causing it to shatter on the floor in broken, metallic pieces.

"Well done, Ed," Peter said angrily and sarcastically.

"It wasn't his fault!" Anna snapped at Peter.

"You balled it!" Edmund added.

From somewhere in house, a heavy Irish accent rang out, "What on earth is going on up here?"

"The Macready!" Susan exclaimed.

"Come on!" Peter said.

All five kids took off running through the house to get away from the evil housekeeper. No matter which way they went, it always seemed like Mrs. Macready was on their tail. Her footsteps echoed in every corridor they went to turn down. They ran until they were out of breath, desperate for a hiding place. They kept trying to open a door, but they all appeared to be locked. Finally, one of the doors opened and all the kids ran inside. It was the room with nothing in it but a large wardrobe and a single window. Edmund ran right up to the wardrobe and opened it, gesturing for the others to follow.

"Come on!" he said desperately. Anna went right over, but the others seemed more hesitant

"You've got to be joking," Susan moaned.

The sound of approaching footsteps shut her up. Edmund hopped in and dragged Anna by her arm with him, burying them both in the heavy fur coats that were stored in there. Lucy and Susan were next to scramble in, followed by Peter in last. He closed the door so that there was just a crack of light showing in the dark, cramped space.

"Get back!" he whispered, backing up right into Anna's foot.

"Ow!"

"Peter watch out!"

"Quit shoving!"

"Get off my foot!"

"Ouch, Susan!"

"Be quiet!"

"Hey, stop!"

"Whoa!"

Anna noticed a few funny things during this time. The wardrobe, while she expected it to have a heavy smell of mothballs and wood stain, actually had a very earthy smell to it. And it wasn't as small as she had originally thought it was. Rather, Anna found that as they all struggled and pushed each other away, they were going farther and farther back into the wardrobe.

_This must be a terribly big wardrobe_, she thought.

Another rather queer thing was that the wardrobe was _drafty_. From the moment Edmund had dragged her in, she felt a cool breeze on her back. And as they pushed and shoved each other through the endless amount of soft fur coats, she felt the cool breeze more and more clearly until it became down right _cold_. And she noticed, with a brief note of curiosity, that she could see her breath, just as one can on a cold winter morning.

As they did this, something changed about the texture of the fur on the coats. The fur was becoming pricklier and coarser. At one point Anna let her hand fall behind her and she felt something that made her pull her hand back right away (smacking Peter in the arm a bit, but it could be said that this was an accident). At first, she thought it was something incredibly hot, like a red hot iron. But then Anna realized that it wasn't hot at all; rather, it was icy cold and very wet.

And as they push even farther than anyone would ever think possible, something changed about the bottom of the wardrobe. The sound of their stomping feet was muffled, and the ground suddenly grew very soft. Anna felt the same icy cold wetness seeping from the tops of her shoes and through her socks.

Suddenly, both Peter and Susan fell to the ground and landed in something white and fluffy. Slowly, the other three children backed out of the wardrobe and into the open, pushing away the thick branches of an enormous pine tree. Anna wondered for a moment how a pine tree could fit into the wardrobe. But what she saw outside made her jaw drop.

They were in thick, snowy forest. Everywhere she looked, Anna saw nothing but tall pine trees covered in glittery snow. When she turned around, she could see through the pine tree the line of coats and eventually the small crack of light from the spare room. But when she looked ahead, all she saw was sheer whiteness and towering evergreens.

A wide grin broke across her face. It was real! Narnia was real! She could feel joy swelling up inside her. This was just like a dream come true for her, only she was completely and utterly awake.

"Wow," she said.

"Impossible," Susan whispered.

"Don't worry, I'm sure it's just your imagination," Lucy said, a smirk on her face. Anna laughed a bit, but her two older siblings looked guilty.

"I don't suppose saying we're sorry would quite cover it?" Peter asked.

"No, it wouldn't," Lucy replied. She suddenly whipped a snowball for behind her back and threw it right at Peter's face. "But that might!"

Everyone laughed and began to throw snowballs at each other. Anna noticed that Edmund wasn't really paying attention. He seemed to be staring out at the scenery, an unreadable expression on his face.

"Hey Edmund," Anna said. "Hey, Edmund! Edmund!"

Suddenly, a snowball hit him, knocking him out of his day dreams.

"Ow!" he said. "Stop it!"

Anna looked sympathetic at him for a moment, and then her eyes widened in sudden realization.

"Hey, wait a minute," she said. "You—you knew!"

Edmund gave her a questioning look, but Peter caught on.

"You little lair!" he said.

"You didn't believe her either!" Edmund said.

"Apologize to Lucy," Peter said calmly. Edmund didn't say anything, but simply stared at his brother.

"Say you're sorry!" Peter said, taking a step towards him.

"Alright, I'm sorry!" Edmund said quickly.

"That's alright," Lucy said smirking, "Some little children just don't know when to stop pretending." Anna had to put her hand over her mouth to stifle a laugh.

"Ha-ha, very funny," Edmund muttered, making a face.

"Maybe we should go back," Susan suggested.

"No!" Anna quickly said. "Can't we just stay for a little longer?"

"Maybe we should look around," Edmund said.

"I think Lucy should decide," Peter declared.

Lucy thought for a moment, and then smiled. "I'd like you all to meet Mr. Tumnus!"

"Well then, Mr. Tumnus it is!" Peter said, walking back in the wardrobe.

"But we can't go hiking in the snow dressed like this!" Susan complained. She did have a point. Anna was already beginning to shiver in just her skirt, sweater, and Mary Janes.

"No," Peter said, coming out of the wardrobe with handfuls of fur coats in his hands. "But I'm sure the professor won't mind us using these," he passed Anna and Lucy each a fur coat, "Anyway, if you think about it _logically_, we're not even taking them out of the wardrobe."

"But that's a girl's coat!" Edmund said as Peter tried to give him a gray fur coat.

"I know," Peter said like it was obvious. Edmund sighed and glared at his brother.

Anna laughed a little and put her big brown fur coat on. She felt all warm and snug in the soft sleeves that went way beyond her hands, and she breathed in the cold scent of the evergreens around her. She couldn't stop laughing or smiling; she was just so happy that this place existed. It was more wonderful than any fairy tale she had ever read (and she had read a lot of them), because _she _was living it. She had never felt more adventurous in her life; she was not typically a daring sort of person. But she was ready to begin her own little adventure in this magical World in the wardrobe, and to see where it would take her. She only thought for a moment what her father would think if she never came back out, but she pushed that thought aside.

After all, they would be coming right back, just after they visited Mr. Tumnus.


	7. The Prophecy and Other Matters

Anna thought that Narnia was by far the most wonderful place she had ever been too, even though she had only been there for less than an hour. The snow seemed to be different here than it was in England—purer and whiter; it sparkled in the sunlight. The trees were taller than any she had ever seen, and everything about the forest seemed so peaceful. She didn't even really care that her feet were getting soaked and her cheeks were rosy with cold. If she were being totally honest, she would say that she barely took notice.

After they had walked a bit, they came upon a lamp-post. A _lamp-post_. In the middle of the forest. Anna wondered how something like that had gotten in a place like this. She thought that it must have been planted there by fauns, like Mr. Tumnus, to light the way for other travelers who came through the wardrobe. Or maybe someone from England had put it there as a sort of marker to remember where the wardrobe was. She could never be sure, really.

Lucy was chatting away as they walked. She was telling them all about Mr. Tumnus and what she knew of Narnia. She told them about what Tumnus had said about there being no humans to ever come to Narnia (which discouraged both of Anna's theories of the lamp-post), what sort of creatures lived there, and the summer festivals that Mr. Tumnus had told her about. She spoke of the dances and music that the fauns and the dryads (tree spirits, Anna remembered from a story her father had once told her) used to make during these, and all the ripe feasts they had.

"That sounds simply wonderful," Anna sighed. "I wish we could've come here during the summer, so that we could've seen one of those."

"But we can't come here during summer," Lucy said sadly. "There is no summer in Narnia. Hasn't been for near a hundred years."

That was when she proceeded to tell them about the White Witch and what she had done to Narnia. As she spoke, Anna felt a sadness swell up inside her, like how one feels when someone talks about starving children in a foreign country. She felt bad for the Narnians, who had to live every day with cold winter, never having anything to look forward too. Though she didn't hate winter in the least, she didn't particularly like it either, and certainly not if she had to live with snow every day (even snow as lovely as this).

Anna also noted Edmund becoming more and more uncomfortable as Lucy talked. She considered asking him what was wrong for a moment, but she decided not to. In the back of her mind, though she tried not to focus on it, she was angry with Edmund. He had lied to her. He told her that there was no forest, yet here they were, in the very same forest he told her didn't exist. She turned around and began to walk beside him, behind everyone else. She waited until the others were farther ahead before she spoke.

"Hi," Anna said. Edmund didn't say anything, but he did look at her. He had been wearing the same unpleasant expression since they had arrived here. It was also the same expression he had when she first met him. She sighed.

"Edmund…why did you lie to me?" she asked.

Edmund was silent and looked away from her, which only made Anna talk more. "You could have told me. I would've believed you." Again he was silent, so she continued. "This wasn't like lying about stealing an extra candy or something. We're talking about a _magical land_. That's a pretty big deal. If you would've just told me—"

"Alright, alright," Edmund said, finally looking at her. "I didn't tell you because I didn't want to, ok? Can you just drop it?"

Anna couldn't hide the hurt in her eyes after he said that. She only nodded as a reply, and walked in front of him. For the first time since she'd known him, Edmund Pevensie had hurt her feelings. Why hadn't he wanted to tell her? She knew she'd tell him if she had discovered it first. He hadn't even apologized for it, not really. She tried not to think about it as she followed the rest of the Pevensies.

It wasn't long after that that they arrived at Mr. Tumnus' house. It appeared to just be a door sticking out of a rock, but Anna thought that it probably went back pretty deep, just like a real house. When they got closer to it, however, Lucy stopped talking and got a look of horror on her face. She gasped and ran towards the house.

"Lucy!" Peter called after her. The other four children raced after and right into the little house. Slowly, they all entered, staring wide eyed at the scene before them. Anna was the last to enter, and she gaped when she saw the interior.

It looked as if someone had come in and completely ruined the place. Tables and chairs were thrown all over, splintered and broken beyond repair. Glass and porcelain covered the floor in broken shards, as well as torn pillows and shredded blankets. Anna even saw a brass tea pot dented by a hearth, its contents poured on the rug beneath it.

"Who would do something like this?" Lucy asked, crossing to the center of the room. Peter walked over to where a sign of some sort was tacked to the post. His eyes scanned it, and he turned grim.

"'The faun Tumnus is hereby charged with high treason,'" he read, "'against her imperial majesty, Jadis, Queen of Narnia, for comforting our enemies and fraternizing with humans. Signed, Maugrim, Captain of the Secret Police. Long live the Queen.'"

Susan took the note from Peter's hand and scanned it. Anna, who was standing beside Edmund, had caught her breath and was wringing her hands. She suddenly felt that maybe they really shouldn't be here.

"Alright, now we really should go back," Susan said.

"But what about Mr. Tumnus?" Lucy asked.

"If he was arrested just for being with a human I don't think there's much we can do," Susan replied.

"You don't understand, do you?" Lucy asked, looking at them all. "I'm the human. She must've found out he helped me."

Anna saw Edmund shift slightly and look at the floor. She cocked her head at him, wondering why he was acting so squirrely.

"Maybe we can call the police," Peter suggested.

"These _are _the police," Susan replied.

Peter sighed and looked at Lucy. "Don't worry, Lu. We'll think of something."

"Why?" Edmund asked suddenly. "I mean, he's a criminal."

His siblings all gave him a disapproving look, but before they could say anything, they heard a sound coming from outside. A bird was chirping at them, but it didn't sound quite like a chirp…

"Did that bird just _psst _us?" Susan asked.

Peter raised an eyebrow and walked out of the house, with Susan and Lucy following close behind. Edmund was rather hesitant, but he and Anna followed the others out. As soon as they step into the sunlight, the bird flew away.

Before any of them could react, they heard the snapping of twigs. Lucy gasped, and she and Susan both grabbed onto Peter. Another snap made Anna gasp and grab Edmund's hand. She and Edmund looked at each other, then at their hands, and then let go, their faces flushing. Something began to walk out from behind a rock. Anna couldn't make out what it was at first, but Lucy could.

"I—it's a beaver," she said.

Anna breathed a sigh of relief. The beaver slowly made its way toward them, and Peter stuck out his hand, beckoning it forward.

"Here, boy," he said, making a clicking noise. "Here, boy."

The beaver was at Peter's hand now, and Anna could've sworn it gave him a questioning look. Suddenly, it said, "I ain't gonna smell, if that's what you want."

Edmund gasped and Susan's eyes widen. Anna's jaw dropped, and Lucy actually laughed.

"It's a _talking _beaver!" Edmund exclaimed.

"Uh, sorry," Peter stuttered out. Lucy giggled again.

"Lucy Pevensie?" the beaver asked. Lucy's smile immediately faded and she walked over to the beaver.

"Y-yes," she said.

The beaver reached up and handed Lucy a white handkerchief. Lucy's eyes widened.

"Hey, that's the hanky I gave to Mr.—"

"Tumnus," the beaver cut her off. "He got it to me just before they took 'im."

"Is he alright?" Lucy asked.

The beaver looked form left to right, and then whispered, "Further in." He started to walk away from them. Peter and Lucy started to follow him, but Susan held them back.

"What are you doing?" she hissed.

"She's right," Edmund said. "How do we know we can trust him?"

"He said he knows the faun," Peter said, like it was an obvious answer.

"He's a _beaver, _he shouldn't be saying anything," Susan pointed out.

"Everything alright?" the beaver asked, peaking his head over a rock.

"Yes," Peter said quickly, "We were just talking."

"That's better left for safer quarters," the beaver whispered.

"He means the trees," Lucy explained.

Peter, Susan, and Edmund all looked at each other and sighed. Anna met Edmund's eyes and she shrugged. They all started walking in the direction of the beaver and quickly caught up to him.

It took a while before they finally arrived at the beaver's house. They had to walk in between giant rock formations that seemed to stand like buildings around them. When they finally got to where they could see the beaver's house, the sun was beginning to set.

"Ah, blimey," Mr. Beaver said. "It looks like then old girl's got the kettle on. Nice cup 'a rosy leaf outta do it."

Anna smiled at the beaver's little house. It was very tiny and was made entirely out of sticks and mud. She thought it was rather cute, just the kind of thing you'd expect to find in a place like Narnia.

"It's lovely," Lucy said.

"Very lovely," Anna added.

"Thank you very much," the beaver said. "It's not quite finished yet, though. Still got plenty to do…" He grumbled something about adding extra rooms, but Anna couldn't make out what he was saying.

They descended the hill and arrived at the beaver's front yard. It was even cuter up close, but Anna wondered just how they were all going to fit in there.

"Here we are, then," Mr. Beaver announced. "We best be inside before dark."

They walked closer to the house, when a woman's voice rang out. "Beaver, is that you? I've been worried sick." A female beaver stepped out of the little house. "If I find that you've been out with badger again, I'll—"

She quickly stopped talking and put a paw to her mouth when she saw the five humans. "O-oh," she stuttered out, "Well those aren't badgers." She walked up to them, a smile upon her face. "Oh, I'd never thought I'd live to see the day…Look at my fur! You couldn't have given me ten minutes warning!"

"I would've given you a week if I thought it would've helped," Mr. Beaver said, getting a laugh from the children.

"Oh, come inside," Mrs. Beaver said, walking to the door, "We'll see if we can get you some food…and some _civilized _company."

Mr. Beaver laughed and his wife's making fun of him. "Now be careful, watch your step."

Anna started inside the house after Peter, Susan, and Lucy, but stopped when she saw Edmund just standing out there. He seemed lost in thought and was staring at the mountains in the distance.

"Edmund?" she said, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Enjoying the scenery, are we?" Mr. Beaver asked.

Edmund nodded and Mr. Beaver hurried inside. He looked at the mountains again, and Anna suddenly felt concerned for him.

"Is everything alright, Edmund?" she asked.

He looked at her, and then at the mountains, as if he was debating on what to do. "Ya, I'm fine," he said after a while. Anna nodded and the two of them hurried inside.

The house was bigger than it looked, thankfully. It was warm and snug and smell of delicious cooking. Anna sat at the table with the rest of the Pevensies, and Edmund sat on the stairs behind them. Mrs. Beaver was serving them tea, bread, and anything else she could find in her tiny kitchen.

"Is there anything we can do to help Tumnus?" Peter asked.

"Well they took him to the Witch's house," Mr. Beaver explained, "And you know what they say; there's few that go through them gates that come out again."

"Fish and chips!" Mrs. Beaver broke in, giving each of the kids a plate. "But there is hope, dear," she said, giving Lucy a pat on the back. "Lots of hope."

Mr. Beaver spit his drink back into his cup. "Oh ya, there's a right bit more than hope!" he yelled. "Aslan is on the move," he said quieter.

At his name, a peaceful air filled the room. The corners of Anna's mouth twitched to a smile, though she didn't know why. She felt a rather particular feeling at that name. She didn't have the slightest idea who Aslan was, but for some reason, it made her feel giddy inside, like how a person feels after they are given a gift they had wanted for a long time.

"Who's Aslan?" Edmund asked, walking closer to the table.

Mr. Beaver started laughing. "'Who's Aslan?' Ha-ha, you cheeky little bloke!"

Edmund, however, was not laughing. None of the children were. They all looked at the beavers, waiting for an answer to Edmund question.

Mr. Beaver stopped laughing and looked at them seriously. "You don't know, do ya?"

"Well, we haven't exactly been here very long," Peter pointed out.

"Well he's only the king of the whole wood," Mr. Beaver explained, "The top geezer. The real king of Narnia!"(Anna saw Edmund scowl from the corner of her eye).

"He's been away for a very long while," Mrs. Beaver said.

"But he's just got back!" Mr. Beaver said excitedly. "And he's waiting for you near the Stone Table!"

"He's waiting for _us_?" Lucy asked.

"You're blooming joking!" Mr. Beaver exclaimed. "They don't even know about the prophecy!"

"Well then…" Mrs. Beaver gestured to them.

"Look," Mr. Beaver started, "Aslan's return, Tumnus' arrest, the Secret Police—it's all happening because of you!"

"You're blaming us?" Susan asked.

"No, not blaming you; thanking you," Mrs. Beaver said.

"You're thanking us for getting Mr. Tumnus arrested?" Anna asked, confused.

Mr. Beaver shook his head. "No, no! Listen, there's a prophecy," he explained. "'When Adam's flesh and Adam's bone/ sits at Cair Paravel in throne/ the evil time will be over and done.'"

"You know, that doesn't exactly rhyme," Susan said.

"You're kinda missing the point," Mr. Beaver said.

Mrs. Beaver put a hand on her husband's shoulder and continued. "It has long been foretold that two Sons of Adam and two Daughters of Eve will defeat the White Witch and restore peace to Narnia."

"And you think we're the ones?" Peter asked.

"Well you better be, because Aslan's already working on your army!" Mr. Beaver said.

"Our army!" Lucy exclaimed. This was all becoming much too surreal for the lot of them.

"Hang on," Anna cut in, "You said two Daughters of Eve? But, there are three of us."

Mr. Beaver looked over them, as if it was just occurring to him that there were indeed three girls. "Well, I'm not sure, to be perfectly honest. All I know is that the prophecy only speaks of two Sons of Adam and two Daughters of Eve—just two, no more than that."

"Well then, what am I here for?" Anna asked. Mr. Beaver only shook his head.

"Look, thank you for your hospitality," Susan said, standing up, "But we really should be going back."

"But you can't just leave!" Mr. Beaver said, desperately.

"He's right," Lucy said softly, "We have to help Mr. Tumnus."

"It's out of our hands," Peter said. "I'm sorry, but it's time the five of us were getting home." He turned around to get his brother. "Ed?"

But Edmund was nowhere to be found.

"Ed?" Peter said again, looking around franticly.

"Edmund?" Anna said, standing up and looking around. Panic surged through her veins. Surely he had to be here somewhere?

Peter looked at Susan with wild eyes. "I'm gonna kill him."

"You may not have to," Mr. Beaver said grimly, "Has Edmund ever been to Narnia before?"

All four of the remaining kids came to the same realization all at once. Anna felt like she was going to be sick from fear and panic.

Meanwhile, in the woods not that far from the Beaver's Dam, Edmund was trudging in the snow to a tiny castle nestled between two hills…


	8. Worrying and an Apology

**A/N: REVISED CHAPTER. Happy Belated Easter :) I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! I know I did; the Easter Bunny brought me a leather-bound Narnia book, you know, the one from Barnes&Noble that's blue and has all the stories? Yeah, that's the one ^_^ So, I'm pretty pumped. **

**This chapter is sort of long, but I just wanted to squeeze all the information that's in it into one long chapter instead of two little ones. Hope you enjoy!**

**I only own dear little Anna Pearce.**

* * *

><p>The kids put their coats on and were out the door in record time. They saw Edmund's footprints as soon as they stepped outside and immediately started following them as fast as possible in the snow and near-darkness. They trudged up the slippery hill, but immediately came to halt when they saw where the footprints had been heading.<p>

Anna could only describe it as either a very large house or a rather small castle. It was horribly wicked looking, with cone-shaped towers rising high above it and around it. It almost looked like it was made entirely of ice. From where she was standing, she could see a small figure open a set of giant (and when she said giant, she meant _giant_) gate doors. Fresh panic surged through her as soon as she realized who it was.

"Edmund!" Lucy screamed into the night.

"_Shhhhhh!_" Mr. Beaver whispered. "They'll hear ya!"

In the next moment, Peter and Anna both began running toward the house. Mr. Beaver grabbed Peter's arm and just managed to grab Anna by the coat.

"No!" he yelled.

"Get off me!" Peter yelled, trying to fight the beaver off.

"You're playing into her hands!" Mr. Beaver said.

"But we can't just leave him!" Anna said.

"He's our brother!" Lucy said.

"He's the bait!" Mr. Beaver said desperately. "The Witch wants all four of ya!"

"Why?" Peter asked.

"To stop the prophecy from coming true! To _kill _ya!" Mr. Beaver said.

The three siblings looked at each other with grim expressions. Clearly, none of them could go in there.

"Then let me go!" Anna said, trying to go to the castle again. "I'm not part of the prophecy!"

"It doesn't matter!" Mr. Beaver intercepted. "She'll kill any Daughter of Eve that enters her house! You're worth nothing to Narnia if _you're _dead!"

"Well neither is Edmund!" Anna replied.

"This is all _your _fault!" Susan said, taking a step toward Peter.

"_My fault_?" Peter said.

"None of this would've happened if you would've just listened to me in the first place!" Susan yelled.

"Oh, so you knew this would happen?" Peter asked.

"I didn't know what would happen, _which is why we should've left here while we still could_!" Susan said.

"Stop it!" Lucy yelled, making everyone look at her. "This isn't going to help Edmund."

"She's right," Mr. Beaver said. "Only Aslan can help him now."

Peter gulped. "Then take us to him."

Everyone turned and stared at the Witch's castle. Even in the distance, they could still hear the creaking of the doors closing and locking Edmund inside. Anna had to swallow hard to stop herself from getting teary. Even though she should still be mad at him for not telling her about Narnia, all her bitter feelings washed away. Edmund, the best friend she'd ever had, was right in the hands of the Witch, and there was nothing she could do to help him.

* * *

><p>They made it back to the dam in less time than it had taken them to leave. They knew that it was only a matter of time before the Witch sent her Secret Police after them, and they had to get as far away from the dam as possible.<p>

"Hurry, mama! They're after us!" Mr. Beaver said as they rushed into the dam.

"Ooh, right then!" Mrs. Beaver said, as she hurried around her kitchen grabbing all the food she could.

"What are you doing?" Peter asked desperately.

"You'll be thinking me later," she replied, grabbing more and more snacks. "It's a long journey and Beaver gets pretty cranky when he's hungry."

"I'm cranky now!" Mr. Beaver said.

Susan was helping Mrs. Beaver get snacks together now, but Anna thought that even with the two working they were still moving much to slow. The police would be here soon.

"Do you think we'll need jam?" Susan asked.

"Only if the Witch serves toast!" Peter replied (ordinarily, Anna would have laughed at this, but given the circumstances she thought that it would be an inappropriate time and kept her mouth shut).

Suddenly, there was the sound of barking and scratching coming from outside the house. Lucy and Anna gasped, but Mr. Beaver held a finger to his mouth. He led them over to a door that was covered by a panel. They all slid down the rope and followed the path as quickly as they could.

"Badger and me made this," Mr. Beaver explained as they ran. "It comes up near his place."

"You told me it led to your mums!" Mrs. Beaver said.

Lucy tripped in front of Anna, but Susan quickly got her back on her feet. Suddenly, everyone stopped talking. They could distinctly hear barking coming closer and closer.

"They're in the tunnel," Lucy whispered grimly.

"Hurry!" Mr. Beaver yelled.

They all hurried down the tunnel as fast as they could without tripping or hitting their heads off of roots. After a while, they made it to the end—which led right into a wall of dirt.

"You should've brought a _map_!" Mrs. Beaver said desperately.

"There wasn't room next to the jam!" Mr. Beaver snapped back. "This way!"

All the children scurried out of the tiny hole and outside. Peter and Mr. Beaver rolled a barrel in front of the hole, hopefully slowing down the wolves. Anna was slowly backing up, when she tripped over some odd shapes stones in the snow. She sat up and studied the stones, and her eyes widened. These weren't stones at all. They were statues in the shape of animals, all with terrified expressions of their faces.

Everyone noticed the statues now. The four children looked confused, and Mr. Beaver looked on the verge of tears. He stepped over to a badger statue and laid his hand on it.

"I'm so sorry, dear," his wife said gently.

"He—he was my best mate," he said quietly.

It was then that Anna realized what exactly these were. They weren't just statues, but actual animals who had been turned to stone. Anna felt a lump in her throat. What had these poor creatures done to deserve this?

"What happened to them?" Anna asked.

"This is what becomes of those who cross the Witch," a voice spoke.

Lucy gasped and grabbed onto Peter, and Susan pulled Anna close to her. A small fox walked out into the open, smirking the tiniest bit.

"Take one more step, _traitor_, and I'll chew ya to splinters!" Mr. Beaver hissed. Mrs. Beaver grabbed his arm to hold him back.

"Relax," the fox said, "I'm one of the good guys."

"Yeah, well you look an awful lot like wanna the _bad ones_," Mr. Beaver said.

"An unfortunate family resemblance," the fox said casually. "But we can argue breeding later. Right now, we've got to move."

At that exact moment, there was the clear sound of barking and scratching coming from the hole that they had just come out of. The wolves were close, and getting closer by the moment.

"What did you have in mind?" Peter said quickly.

The fox smirked and looked up at the closet pine tree. Upon realizing his intention, Anna began to feel nauseous again.

You see, there were a lot of things Anna could handle, but heights were not one of them. She had a terrible fear of high places, and she had never told a soul about this fear. The thought of being up in that incredibly tall tree, with nothing but flimsy branches to hold on to, where just the slightest lean forward could send her tumbling down…everything about it made Anna's heart beat faster and made her feel more and more sick.

"Come on, Anna!" Susan said.

Peter was already hoisting Lucy up, and Mr. and Mrs. Beaver were scurrying as quickly as they could up the side. Anna took a deep breath, and allowed herself to be hoisted up by Peter. She climbed to the top (trying incredibly hard not to look down and to control her trembling hands) and sat on the branch across from Lucy. After she got situated, she grabbed Susan's hand and pulled her up beside her. They were just getting Peter up when the wolves climbed out of the hole.

"Greetings, gents!" Anna heard Fox yell down below. "Lost something, have we?"

"Don't patronize me!" Maugrim growled. "I know where your allegiance lies. We're looking for some humans."

Fox laughed. "Humans, here in Narnia? Now that's a valuable bit of information, don't you think?"

Suddenly, there was the sound of a snarl and a yelp. Anna risked a look down, but regretted doing so almost immediately. One of the wolves had Fox in his jaws, and Fox was clearly in pain. Not only that, but it really was a _long _way down. She felt a wave of panic and grabbed Susan's arm to steady herself. She closed her eyes and decided that she probably shouldn't look down again.

"Your reward is your life," Maugrim snarled, "It's not much," he chuckled, "But still. Where are the fugitives?"

It was silent for a few moments, and Anna was terrified that Fox was going to turn them in.

"North," Fox huffed out, "They ran north."

"Smell them out," Maugrim said, clearly satisfied. After that, there was a round of barking and snarls as the wolves ran North in search of the humans that were, in fact, right above them the entire time.

* * *

><p>"They were helping Tumnus. The Witch got here before I did—<em>oh, ow<em>!" Fox yelped. He had been telling the Beavers and the children what had happened to all the stone animals they had come upon. Mrs. Beaver was tending to his wounds. They were sitting around a fire that Peter and Mr. Beaver made, trying to warm up. Anna was glad to be back on the ground, nice and safe.

"Are you alright?" Lucy asked softly.

"Well, I wish I could say their bark was worse than their bite—_ow_!" Fox yelped. (Anna chuckled a bit at his 'bark to bite' joke).

"Oh, quit squirming!" Mrs. Beaver said, "You're worse than Beaver on bath day!"

"Worse day of the year," Mr. Beaver told the kids. Lucy cracked a smile and Anna chuckled despite herself.

"Thank you for your kindness," Fox said, standing up, "But I'm afraid that's all the cure I have time for."

"You're leaving?" Lucy asked.

"It has been a pleasure, my Queen, and an honor," Fox said, bowing to Lucy, "But time is short, and Aslan himself has asked me to gather more troops."

Mr. and Mrs. Beaver gasped. "You've seen Aslan? What's he like?"

"Like everything we've ever heard," Fox said, smiling. "You'll be glad to have him by your side in battle against the Witch."

"But we're not planning on fighting any Witch," Susan said.

"But surely King Peter, the prophecy," Fox said.

"We can't go to war without ya," Mr. Beaver said.

Peter looked down a few moments, and then looked up. "We just want our brother back."

Anna looked at her hands uncomfortably during this conversation. She felt like she was intruding on something she wasn't supposed to know. The prophecy spoke of two boys and two girls who would be kings and queen of Narnia; just two boys and two girls, no more than that. Yet, here she was, another human in Narnia. Why was she here? There was no second prophecy, no special mission she was responsible for; she was just _there_.

And if that didn't make her feel bad enough, she knew that Edmund was sitting at the Witch's house, cold and alone. After seeing what the Witch had done to those animals, she wondered what kinds of things she would do to Edmund. For all she knew, Edmund might not even be alive right now.

She fought back that thought the moment it formed in her head. _Of course he's still alive, _she told herself. _He's alive and he's going to be fine. Everything is going to be fine_.

At least, she hoped it would be.

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><p>It was hours later, and Anna couldn't sleep. There was just too much on her mind right now, and she couldn't stop thinking and worrying. Was Edmund all right? What was the Witch doing to him? Were they all going to be all right? What if they didn't get to Aslan in time? Who was Aslan, anyway?<p>

Finally, she gave up trying to sleep. She sat up and brought her knees to her chin and stared at the fire, trying to distract herself from her overwhelming thoughts. She focused on what was happening around her instead. Mr. and Mrs. Beaver were cuddled together close to the fire. Mr. Beaver snored loudly, and Mrs. Beaver muttered something about fixing the chimney in her sleep. Susan and Lucy were lying together; huddled close to keep themselves extra warm. Lucy was using Edmund's coat as a blanket; the coat he had failed to take with him on his trek to meet the Witch. He was probably freezing without it. Anna imagined him in a cold, dark dungeon, shivering and freezing. He was probably hungry, sad, and lonely.

She sighed. There was no way she could sleep, not while she was so concerned for he friend. All she wanted to know was that he was safe; that he was safe and alive. Unfortunately, she had no way of knowing what was happening to him, and that was the most unsettling thing of all.

"You should try and go to sleep."

Anna jumped slightly at the sudden noise. She failed to notice that Peter was still awake, sitting on a nearby log. She only glanced at him, and continued staring at the fire. She knew he didn't like her; he had practically said so himself.

"Maybe you should, too," she grumbled.

"Maybe," Peter said, almost to himself. There was a silence between them for a few moments, until Peter spoke again. "Why can't you sleep?"

"Just a lot going through my mind," Anna said, still not meeting his eyes. "You?"

"Same," Peter said.

There was another silence between them, this one much longer than the first. Peter put a log in the fire, sending sparks of orange and red dancing into the clear, starry sky. There were a lot more stars in the Narnian sky than there were in the sky back in England. They seemed to make patterns in the night, swirling and gliding from one corner to the next. It almost looked like it had been painted that way.

Another magical story formed in Anna's mind. She imagined fairies coming out at night and dancing through the night sky. They would pull out their glowing brushes and dot the sky, creating a wonderful, swirling painting of stars. She smiled at that thought. For the first time since Edmund had gone missing, she felt some sort of peace.

It quickly disappeared when she wondered if he could see the stars, too. Then she began to wonder what was happening to him and if he was ok. She sighed, wondering if she'd ever get a moment without worrying. _Probably not until we get Edmund back_, she thought.

Suddenly, Peter broke the silence. "Anna, I'm…" He took a small breath and looked at the fire. "I'm…sorry, about what I said the other day, about you and Edmund being friends. That wasn't right of me."

Anna looked at him, surprised. Had she heard him correctly? Surely he wasn't really apologizing. But Anna knew that she wasn't dreaming, and that Peter was really apologizing to her.

"It's just, Edmund is a handful sometimes," he continued, "And I noticed he was acting different around you than he did with us."

Anna stared at the fire and said nothing. She wasn't quite sure what to make of this apology. She didn't really think that Peter was the type to say he was sorry, but here he was, doing just that.

"And…Susan was right," he quickly looked to make sure that Susan was asleep, and continued. "You did make Edmund smile again, and that was something he hadn't done in a while. I can see that you're just as concerned for him as we are." He paused, and then continued. "All I know is that whatever it is that brought us here, to this place, well…we're all in this together now, and that includes you. So, if you'll forgive me, can we just forget about what I said?"

Anna looked up and met his eyes. He really did look sorry, his expression told her that much. And she knew he was right; whatever this was, they all had to stick together. She smiled a little at him.

"It's alright, Peter," Anna said softly.

Peter returned her smile. "Good. Now, I really think you ought to go to sleep. We've got a lot of walking to do tomorrow, and I don't think you want to be tired."

She nodded to him, and lay down without another word. She didn't think she's fall asleep, but she suddenly felt the day's fatigue sweeping in. Before she fell asleep, she said a quick prayer. She prayed for Edmund to be alright, for everything to work out in the end, and especially to keep them all safe. She didn't care what god listened to her prayer—Jesus, Aslan; even Zeus, if he was available. As long as they answered it, she would be ok.

**See that button at the bottom? The one that says review? Yeah, you should press it :)**


	9. Christmas in Narnia

**A/N****: I would really like to thank The Red Crayon for all her reviews on this story! (And thanks for the J.K. Rowling compliment; that literally made my day!) And thanks to everyone who has favourited this story! You guys keep me inspired! **

**With out further ado; Chapter 9.**

**I only own Anna.**

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><p>Edmund was having no fun at all. The Queen locked him up almost immediately after his arrival. She had sent her wolves out to fetch his family, because apparently he was supposed to bring them. An image flashed through of his family, the Beavers, and Anna all warm and drinking tea at the dam.<p>

He sighed. He had really considered asking Anna to come with him to see the Queen. He wasn't sure why he didn't; there was just something in the back of his mind that kept nagging him not to. He figured that once he got there, he could've just asked the Witch if Anna could come and join them. He was almost going to right after he got there, but he quickly changed what he was saying and asked for some Turkish Delight instead. He felt incredibly bad about lying to Anna about Narnia now, too. He didn't want to talk about it, but when she kept going on about how he should have told her, he snapped at her. She looked rather hurt after he did, and he felt bad about that, too. He wondered what she was doing right now, if the wolves had found them hiding at the dam yet. He felt slightly panicked at the thought that maybe the wolves would attack her…and his family, of course.

A shiver went up his spine, and he rubbed his arms. He was freezing, lonely, and hungry (all he had to eat was some stale bread; apparently, the Queen had lied about the Turkish Delight). He was just starting to think that maybe the Queen wasn't that kind after all, when another person spoke out in the dungeon.

"Hey," said a meek voice, "If you're not going to eat that…?"

Edmund looked up to see another person chained to the opposite wall. He couldn't make out his details, but something about him didn't look quite...human. Edmund picked up the bread and slowly slid over to where the other prisoner sat. He handed him the bread, and the stranger took it desperately.

"I'd get up, but, with my legs…" the person said.

Edmund let his gaze fall to his legs, and his eyes widened. Instead of having normal legs, this person had _goat _legs. He looked at the person's face and really studied it. He had horns coming from his head and a little goatee. Edmund's eyes widened again. Surely this couldn't be…?

"…Mr. Tumnus?" he asked carefully.

"What's left of him," the faun replied, gnawing at his bread.

Edmund looked away from him. If this was the Mr. Tumnus Lucy had talked about, and he was locked up in here, then that meant-?

"You're Lucy Pevensie's brother," Tumnus said, cutting into Edmund thoughts.

He nodded. "I'm Edmund."

"You have the same nose," Tumnus said.

Edmund wiped his nose self-consciously. He and Lucy had one similarity, and that was that they both had their father's nose.

"Is your sister alright?" Tumnus asked.

Edmund looked at him, but didn't reply.

"Is she safe?" Tumnus asked.

Suddenly, there was the sound of barking coming from above them, and Edmund felt some panic surge through him. The wolves had returned, and they might have his family with them. He turned and faced Mr. Tumnus again.

"I don't know," he said quietly.

They heard someone coming down the stairs at that moment, and the two prisoners quickly separated. The Queen marched through the door and walked right over to Edmund, displeasure clear on her face.

"My police tore that dam apart," she said to him, "Your little family are nowhere to found."

At this she grabbed Edmund by his shirt and hoisted him up off the ground. He was face to face with the Queen, and she was studying him like he was some sort of insect.

"Where did they go?" she asked.

"I-I don't know!" Edmund replied.

"Then you have no further use for me," she said.

The Queen threw Edmund to the ground and raised her wand, ready to strike. Edmund raised his hands and, in a moment of panic, said the last bit of information he knew.

"Wait!" he said, "The—the beavers said something about Aslan!"

The Queen quickly lowered her wand, and a look of horror crossed her face.

"Aslan?" she asked, a slight edge of distress in her voice. "Where?" The Queen's face became suddenly unreadable, but Edmund knew he had seen true panic there a moment before.

"I-I…,"

"H-he's a stranger here, your majesty!" Tumnus broke in. "H-h-he can't be expected to know everything!"

Ginarrbrik smacked Tumnus in the face with his staff, silencing the faun. Edmund winced at this, but kept his gaze at the Queen. The Queen considered Tumnus for a moment, but then her gaze returned to Edmund.

"I said, where is Aslan?" she asked.

Edmund looked at Tumnus, and the faun gave him a desperate look. Edmund knew where the others would be headed; he had left right after they said it. But, looking at Tumnus' silent, pleading face, Edmund just couldn't tell the Queen.

"I—I don't know," he said, looking at the Queen once more. "I left before they said anything."

The Queen looked at Tumnus, as if she were suspecting him. Tumnus drooped his head under her gaze.

"I wanted to see you!" Edmund said quickly, as if that would help. It was true; he had wanted to see her. He wasn't sure how much of a difference it would make now, though.

The Queen considered him a moment, and then shouted, "Guard!"

A horrible, grotesque looking creature marched in, and Edmund sucked in a breath.

"Release the faun," the Queen commanded.

The creature walked over and hit Tumnus' shackles with a hammer. With each whack, Tumnus let out a cry of pain, and Edmund flinched. The creature dragged Tumnus over and threw him at the Queen's feet.

"Do you know why you're here, faun?" she asked.

Tumnus looked at her with a brave face. "Because I believe in a free Narnia."

The Queen scowled at him. "You are here because _he_," she pointed the end of her wand at Edmund, "turned you in. For sweeties."

Edmund met Tumnus' eyes and immediately felt guilty. The faun looked shocked, but after a while he began to look more convinced. Edmund hung his head in shame.

"Take him upstairs," the Queen commanded, gesturing to Tumnus.

The guard came and grabbed Tumnus by the scarf and hauled him out of the dungeon. Edmund could hear Tumnus' cries of pain as he was dragged up the stairs.

"And ready my sleigh," the Queen added. "Edmund misses his family."

With one last glare at Edmund, the Queen walked out of the dungeon, leaving him alone once more. He brought his knees to his chest and buried his face. He felt an immense guilt building inside of him. He felt horrible about what he had done to Tumnus, that he had left his family at the beavers' house, the way he snapped at Anna…

Edmund bit his lip to stop tears from forming. He would do anything to be with them right now. He wanted Anna, Susan, Lucy…he would even like to have Peter with him right now. He just wanted to know that everything would be ok, and that he would wake up form this nightmare soon.

Edmund looked out the window that was high above his cell. Outside, he could see a few stars shining in the gray morning sky. He knew that if he would have been with Anna, she would have woken him up to look at them (she had done that at the Professor's house when she had seen a few deer in the yard). She'd probably start telling him another made up story of how stars were fairies that lived high in the sky, or that they were the tears of angels, or something batty like that. He felt another wave of sadness, and wondered if she was looking at them, too.

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><p>The next day brought more walking then Anna expected. They kept a steady pace over some pretty hilly terrain. They had been walking for a few hours, but it seemed like an eternity.<p>

Anna hadn't really slept soundly after her chat with Peter. She kept waking up from dreams of the Witch turning Edmund to stone, or of herself falling from an incredibly tall tree. Then, she'd be up for a while silently worrying about Edmund and the journey before them. Eventually, she'd calm down and fall asleep, only to wake up again and repeat the steps above.

On a brighter note, she was really getting to see how truly beautiful Narnia was. The forests were rich and thick; Anna could only imagine how beautiful they looked in the spring. They got a wonderful view of the mountains in the distance, and her jaw had dropped at the sight of such beauty. Everything about this place was just so beautiful, so wonderful, and so…magical.

Now, they were crossing a field of land that was covered in snow. It seemed to take hours to get across it, even though it wasn't that long. Anna and Susan were a few feet in front of Peter and Lucy, but the beavers were _way _ahead of them all. Unlike the children, they were full of energy.

"Come on, humans, while we're still young!" Mr. Beaver yelled back to them.

Susan sighed, and she and Anna stopped to wait for Lucy and Peter to catch up. Poor Lucy was looking exhausted.

"If he tells us to hurry one more time, I'm going to turn him into a big fluffy hat," Peter said, lifting Lucy onto his back. Anna and Lucy both laughed at this.

"Hurry up! Come on!" Mr. Beaver yelled again, waving his arms frantically.

"He _is _getting a little bossy," Lucy said.

"No!" Mrs. Beaver yelled, "Behind you! It's her!"

Anna whipped around to see a sleigh heading straight for them. It was coming at them at a deathly fast rate. They all took off, sprinting as fast as they could away from the sled. Susan grabbed Anna's hand and dragged her behind her. They ran until Anna's legs ached with pain. They went into the woods and took shelter in a cave beneath a small hill. Anna was squashed between Susan and Lucy, all of them pressed tightly together, not daring to make a sound.

Suddenly, they saw a shadow of a person standing over the hill. Anna caught her breath, and no one moved. It seemed like an eternity before it walked away, and even then no one dared to move.

"Maybe she's gone," Lucy whispered.

"I suppose I'll go look," Peter said, moving to stand up.

"No!" Mr. Beaver whispered, "You're worth nothing to Narnia dead." He moved to climb out, when his wife put an arm on him.

"Neither are you, Beaver!" she said.

"Thanks, sweetheart," he said kindly to her.

With that, he scurried out of the cave and on top of the hill. Lucy let out a little whimper, and Peter held her tighter. Anna crossed her fingers, hoping that Mr. Beaver would be all right. There was no sound for a few seconds, when suddenly they heard footsteps. They came closer, and closer, and closer…

"Come here! Come here!" Mr. Beaver exclaimed, popping his head in. Lucy let out a little squeak, and Anna breathed a sigh of relief.

"I hope you've all been good, cuz there's some 'ere to see ya!" Mr. Beaver said.

They slowly climbed out of the cave and walked up the little hill. Anna smiled brightly when she saw who was standing there. It was a man wearing a dark red leather coat, with a long, grayish white beard and a jolly smile. He laughed when he saw their faces, and Anna suddenly felt warm, despite the cold.

"Santa," she said, still smiling.

"Merry Christmas, sir," Lucy said, smiling as wide as Anna was.

"It certainly is, Lucy," Father Christmas said, "Since you have arrived."

"Look, I've put up with a lot since I've got here, but this—" Susan started, but Peter cut her off.

"We thought you were the Witch," Peter explained.

"Yes," Father Christmas said, "Sorry about that. In my defense, I have been driving one of these longer than the Witch."

"I thought there was no Christmas in Narnia?" Susan asked.

"No, not for a long time," Father Christmas said. "But the hope that you have brought, your majesties, is finally starting to weaken the Witch's power. Still, I dear say you could do with these." He went in his sleigh and produced a large leather bag stuffed with toys. Lucy and Anna looked at each other excitedly.

"Presents!" Lucy exclaimed, walking up to Father Christmas.

He pulled out a small glass bottle form his bag and handed it to Lucy. "The juice of the fireflower," he said. "One drop will cure any injury." Lucy took the small bottle in her hands and studied it carefully.

"And, though I hope you never have to use it," he handed her a small dagger.

"Thank you, sir. But, I think I could be brave enough," Lucy said, slightly uncertainly.

Father Christmas smiled at her. "I'm sure you could. Battles are ugly affairs."

He stood up and dug in his sack more. "Anna," he said, beckoning her forward.

Anna pointed to herself and mouthed "Me?" Father Christmas smiled.

"Yes, you! Come here," he said.

Anna walked over to him and he continued digging in his bag.

"Now, all though you're not one of the prophesized," he pulled something out of his bag and went eye-level with Anna, "Everyone deserves a little something on Christmas."

He handed her a dagger, which was similar to Lucy's, but this one was longer. Anna took it out of its sheath and saw that there were runes written on the blade. She ran her fingers over them, but couldn't make sense of what they said.

"What do they mean?" she asked.

Father Christmas only smiled. "In time, dear one. Use it to protect the ones you hold closest to your heart."

Anna looked at the runes for a few more seconds, and put the dagger back in its sheath. "Thank you, sir," she said.

He winked at her and went back to digging in his sack. Anna went and stood by Lucy.

Father Christmas pulled a quiver out of his bag. "Susan," he said. Susan walked up to him, and he handed her the quiver as well as a long bow.

"Trust in this bow and it will not easily miss," Father Christmas said.

Susan looked at her gifts for a few seconds before asking, "What happened to 'battles are ugly affairs?'"

Father Christmas chuckled as a reply and pulled something out of the bag. "Though you don't seem to have a problem making yourself heard," he handed her a cream-colored, cone shaped object, "Blow on this, and wherever you are, help _will _come."

Susan looked at her gifts lovingly, and said a quiet thanks. Father Christmas smiled at her and went back to digging in his bag.

"Peter," he said, beckoning the boy forward. "The time to use these may be near at hand."

He handed Peter a sword and a shield with a red lion emblem on it. Peter unsheathed the sword and smiled

"Thank you, sir," he said.

"These are tools, not toys," Father Christmas said. "Bare them well and wisely. Now, I must be off. Winter is almost over, and things do pile up when you've been gone a hundred years." He put the bag back in the sleigh. "Long live Aslan!" he climbed in his sleigh and smiled at them. "And Merry Christmas!"

With that, he snapped his reigns and drove away, leaving nothing but a flurry of snow in his path. Everyone yelled a finally thank you and goodbye. Lucy gave Susan a mischievous smile.

"Told you he was real," she smirked. Anna laughed, and Susan rolled her eyes.

Anna looked down at her dagger with curious eyes. She wondered what the runes meant, and what Father Christmas had meant when he said "In time, dear one." She smiled despite this, and put the belt around her waist. Considering everything that had happened since they had come to Narnia, this was still the best Christmas ever.


	10. What Happened at the Waterfall

**A/N: REVISED. I really loved writing this chapter in Edmund's POV. I don't know why, but I found it to be very fun.**

**So. Anyways, I had chapter 11 written and saved onto my flash drive so I could take it to school and edit it. Well, when I came home and saved it onto my computer, the computer version of it (which only had the first page) overwrote the finished version. So, needless to say, I have to rewrite the entire Ch. 11. *sighs* All well, an author's work is never done.**

**I only own Ms. Anna Pearce.**

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><p>They came to the river not long after they received their gifts from Father Christmas. The Beavers had said that it was frozen, but, due to the end of winter being close, it was anything but. There were chunks of ice floating down it, and more seemed to be breaking off by the minute. If they waited much longer to cross, they would be too late.<p>

"We need to cross, now!" Peter said.

"Don't beavers make dams?" Lucy asked.

"I'm not _that_ fast, dear," Mr. Beaver said.

"Come on!" Peter said, dragging Lucy to the path. Anna was following close behind, but Susan grabbed her and held her back.

"Wait, will you just think about this for a minute?" Susan asked Peter.

"We don't have a minute!" Peter snapped.

"I'm just trying to be realistic," Susan muttered.

"No, you're just trying to be _smart_," Peter said, "As usual." He turned and continued to help Lucy down the little path.

Susan looked genuinely hurt by Peter's words. She stood there, lost in thought for a few moments, until Anna pulled on her arm desperately.

"Come on, Susan!" she said.

Just as the two girls began to walk to the path, they heard a sound in the distance. It was very faint, but very distinct.

Wolves were howling. The Witch's police were on their way.

Susan and Anna looked at each other, and then hurried down the path after the others. Once they got to the edge of the river, Anna could see that more and more ice was breaking off. Peter slowly took a step forward, only to have the ice crack under his feet.

"Wait, maybe I should go first," Mr. Beaver said.

"Maybe you should," Peter said fearfully.

Mr. Beaver walked out to the ice, slapping his tail in various places. He hadn't gone more than a few feet before the ice started to crack beneath him, too.

"You've been sneaking second helpings, haven't you?" Mrs. Beaver yelled.

"You never know which meal's gonna be your last!" Mr. Beaver said, like it was obvious. "'Specially with your cooking." (Anna smiled, but didn't laugh).

Peter slowly stepped onto the ice, followed closely by Lucy and Susan. Anna stepped on after Susan, and felt the ice sink slightly under her. She tiptoed carefully, but the more they all walked, the more ice broke underneath them. Lucy squealed as she almost slipped, and Peter grabbed onto her.

"If mum knew what we were doing…" Susan said.

"Mum's not here!" Peter snapped.

They walked a few more steps, and even more ice began to give way and float down the river. They were about half-way across, when Lucy's eyes widen.

"Oh no!" she yelled.

Anna felt a wave of fear when she saw why. The wolves were on top of the waterfall, running straight towards them.

"Run!" Peter yelled, dragging Lucy with him.

They ran as fast as they could to the other side of the river. Anna found this to be a difficult task; she kept slipping and her feet kept breaking the ice. Thankfully, Susan was right behind her and grabbed her each time she fell.

They were almost to the other side when the wolves slid in front of them. The children tried to run back to the other side, but the ice there was already gone. The wolves were closing in on them, fast. Mr. Beaver growled at one of them, but the wolf pounced on him, clamping his jaws around his neck.

"No!" Mrs. Beaver yelled.

"Peter!" Lucy yelled, getting her brothers attention.

Peter stepped in front of the girls and pulled out his sword, trying to keep a brave face.

"Put that away, boy," Maugrim growled, slowly coming closer "Someone could get hurt."

"Don't worry about me!" Mr. Beaver said, "Run him through!"

The kids were inching their way backwards, getting closer to the rushing river. Anna knew that If they kept moving like this, they would be washed away.

"Leave now while you can, and the other one leaves with you," Maugrim said.

That statement made Anna stop in her tracks. They could get Edmund back, only by promising to leave Narnia. As much as Anna would love to stay in Narnia, she would do anything to get Edmund back. He would be with them again, and that alone made Anna feel warm inside.

"Peter, stop! Maybe we should listen to him!" Susan shouted.

Maugrim chuckled. "Smart girl."

"Don't listen to him!" Mr. Beaver yelled. "Kill `im! Kill `im now"

"Come on, this isn't your war. All my Queen wants is for you all to go," Maugrim said.

Anna's heart was beating rapidly in her chest. Every moment they stood here was another moment wasted. The river was going to give out soon, that much was clear. And every moment they stood here was another moment that Witch could be getting farther and farther away with Edmund.

"Peter, maybe he's right! Maybe we should go!" Anna shouted.

"No!" Mr. Beaver cried out.

"Look, just because some man in a red coat hands you a sword it doesn't make you a hero!" Susan yelled desperately. "Just drop it!"

"No, Peter!" Mr. Beaver yelled, now furiously struggling with the wolf that had him pinned. "Narnia needs ya! Gut him while you still have a chance!"

Peter looked completely torn. He wasn't sure who to listen to; Susan and Anna, or Mr. Beaver. All around them, ice was falling and cracking. Soon, the river would be no more, and it would take them all away with it. Anna knew that if they didn't act now, it would be too late.

"What's it gonna be, Son of Adam?" Maugrim asked. "I won't wait forever, and neither will the river."

At that moment, Lucy let out a frightened cry. "Peter!"

The ice on the waterfall was cracking a breaking. Water was shooting out in certain places, and the ice beneath their feet was trembling.

"Hold onto me!" Peter commanded.

Susan and Lucy latched themselves to his side, and Anna grabbed onto Susan. Peter stabbed his sword right into the ice. Behind them, the waterfall was losing more and more ice. With one loud crash, it all came tumbling down. Anna gripped Susan tight as a wall of water washed over them, sending them under water.

It was absolutely freezing under the water. They were under for what felt like an eternity. Just as Anna thought her lungs were going to burst from lack of oxygen, they broke to the surface. She clung to Susan as they rushed down the river for who knows how long. Suddenly, Mr. and Mrs. Beaver swam up to their ice raft and paddled them over to the land. Anna was relieved to see that they were ok, but more concerned to get out of the river.

They climbed out, coughing and soaking wet. Anna plopped to the ground and lay there, breathing hard with her eyes closed. She was so glad they were all ok, but then another thought pestered its way into her mind. They were not all ok. They had still not gotten Edmund back. She felt another wave of panic, and wondered where he was right now. She just hoped that he was at least alive; that much she could handle.

"What have you done?" Susan yelled suddenly.

Anna's eyes shot open to see Peter holding a coat.

Lucy's coat.

That she was not wearing.

Her mind quickly made the connection, and she sat up, looking around franticly. She had already lost Edmund; she couldn't lose Lucy, too.

"Lucy!" she yelled.

"Lucy!" Susan yelled. "Lucy!"

Peter was looking around frantically, and Mrs. Beaver looked petrified. Anna looked around, but she couldn't see Lucy anywhere

"Has anyone seen my coat?"

Anna turned to see Lucy walking toward them from farther down shore. Peter wrapped her coat around her shoulders. Anna lay back down and breathed a sigh of relief. Lucy was safe; that was one less Pevensie to worry about.

"Don't you worry, dear," Mr. Beaver said. "Your brother's got you well looked after."

"And I don't think you'll be needing those coats anymore," Mrs. Beaver added.

Anna saw all of the other kids looking in awe at something behind her. She sat up and craned her neck to see what it was, and when she did, she smiled.

The trees had sprouted little pink flowers. They were blooming right before Anna's eyes, something they never would have done in England. They had a bit of frost still on them, making them sparkle in the afternoon sunlight. The snow was melting in the forest, and Mrs. Beaver was right; it was rather warm out. Anna smiled wider when she realized what all these things meant.

Spring had arrived.

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><p>When Edmund found out that the others had escaped the wolves a second time, he could not have been more relived. He was so glad they had got away, and he hoped they made it all the way to Aslan.<p>

He was standing over the river beside the Queen, looking at the place where the others had escaped. The waterfall had defrosted when the wolves cornered them, and that had allowed them to get away. The river was anything but frozen now, however. There was no ice at all, and most of the snow had melted in the forest. Edmund was suddenly glad he didn't bring his coat; he would have been much too hot with it, now.

"It's so warm out," Ginarrbrik said, taking off his coat. The Queen gave him a death glare, and he quickly put it back on. "I'll go and check the sleigh."

Edmund smiled, finding the dwarf's reaction to be quite amusing. His eyes continued to scan the river, and he hoped that his family had gone far from here. He wondered what they were doing, and if they were getting along ok. He knew exactly how each one of them would react to all this; Peter would try and take charge, acting like the leader; Susan would try to be reasonable and think out every one of their actions beforehand; Lucy would be gabbing with the beavers about anything and everything; and Anna, he knew, would be enjoying every moment of their time in Narnia.

He wondered if she was still mad at him about not telling her about Narnia. If he ever got to see them again, he would apologize to her about all of that. He knew she would love Narnia more than any of them; she loved fairy tales, and this was just the sort of place described in one of them. He hoped that she was alright, and hoped even more that Peter wasn't giving her a hard time.

"Your majesty," someone snarled from behind him.

Edmund turned around to see that the wolves had returned from their task of finding his family. For a split second, he became panicked that they had of them with, but he saw that the wolves had another victim with them. One of them threw a small fox to the ground—an injured fox, at that.

"We found the traitor," Maugrim said, "He was rallying your enemies in the nearby woods."

"Ah, nice of you to drop in," the Queen said, walking in front of the fox. "You were so helpful to my wolves last night," (her voice dripped with sarcasm); "Perhaps you can help me now."

The fox looked at them for a moment, and then bowed deeply. "Forgive me, your majesty."

"Oh, don't waste my time with flattery," the Queen said.

"Not to seem rude, but I wasn't actually talking to you," the fox retorted. He turned to Edmund and bowed his head very slightly again.

The Queen sent Edmund a cold stare, and Edmund did his best not to falter under her gaze. He didn't understand exactly what the fox meant; only that he was referring to _him _as royalty. The Queen stepped over to the fox, and only then did she break her gaze on Edmund. She pointed her wand at the tiny fox, and spoke.

"Where are the humans headed?" she asked.

The fox looked from the Queen to Edmund, but did not speak. Edmund felt his heart speed up. He knew what would happen to this poor fox if he didn't speak; he would suffer the same horrible fate as Tumnus.

The fox still refused to speak, and that panicked Edmund even further. The Queen quickly raised her wand and prepared to strike.

"Wait, no! Don't!" Edmund broke in, stepping in front of her before she could strike him. "The beaver said something about the Stone Table, and that Aslan had an army there."

The Queen raised an eyebrow at that bit of information. "An army?" she asked softly.

She looked at the fox, which was still standing very still behind Edmund. He turned around, only to see that the little animal was shaking his head at him in disappointment.

"Thank you, Edmund," the Queen said, "I'm glad this creature got to see some honesty," she smirked at Edmund. "Before he dies!"

Before any of them had time to react, the Queen trusted her wand forward and stabbed the fox, instantly turning him to stone. Edmund barely had time to cry out before the little creature took its last breath.

Edmund's dark brown eyes were slowly filling with tears. He had given away the others' location because he thought it would save the fox. Now, not only did the Queen have his family's whereabouts, but the little fox was turned into a stone statue.

The Queen turned and gave him a stern look. And the, in the next moment, she whipped the back of her hand across his cheek, smacking him hard. The pain of the smack mixed with his horrible guilt sent his tears flowing out of his eyes and over his cheeks. The Queen cupped his face in her bony hands and looked him in the eye.

"Think about whose side you're on, Edmund. Mine," he turned his head to face the stone fox, "or theirs."

She released hold of his face and stepped over to her wolves. Edmund kept his gaze on the fox, a giant tear falling down his face. His guilt was practically eating him alive. He had caused so much pain these past few days to everyone; Anna, Lucy, Mr. Tumnus, this poor little fox. And for what? Some Turkish Delight, and the promise that he would someday be king? He knew right then and there that this woman had been lying to him all along, and he felt very stupid for believing her.

"Go on ahead," the Queen commanded her wolves. "Gather my followers. If it is a war Aslan wants," she shot up her wand and turned a butterfly that was fluttering around her face to stone (another life taken on account of him, Edmund thought), "It's a war he shall get."

Edmund shook his head at her and wiped the last of his tears from his face. He understood everything now; the Queen had just been using him this whole time. He hoped that there was a war and that Aslan—whoever he was—gathered more troops than this woman could ever dream of getting. He hated her more than he ever hated anybody in his life. He wondered how he could have so easily been deceived by her friendliness when he first met her. Suddenly, the words of Anna came rushing back to him.

"_Not everyone is as they appear."_

Edmund understood exactly what she meant now. Just like the woman in the painting, the Queen had seemed friendly and kind, but underneath, she was cold and evil. He knew exactly who she was now. She was not the Queen anymore. She was the horrible, cold-hearted, evil White Witch.

And Edmund couldn't wait for the battles to begin.

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><p><strong>Review please? :}<strong>


	11. Aslan's Camp

**A/N****: Sorry this chapter took so long to get posted, but keep in mind that I'm working on two different stories right now, including this one, so some updates may take longer than others. Anyway, this chapter is **_**long, **_**but I couldn't shorten it. Also, to answer a question asked in my reviews, this story will be going into the Golden Age, extensively. I have it at about forty chapters on my storyboard, so believe me, more to come!**

**I only own Anna, Rosemane, and Huffin. **

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><p>They had abandoned their coats somewhere in the forest. It was much too warm for something as thick as a fur coat, and they had no reason to carry them now. The warm air had dried their wet clothes and hair in no time at all. They were trekking through the newly greened forest, following the beavers to the Stone Table and where Aslan awaited them.<p>

All around them, the forest was bursting into spring. Flowers of all colours bloomed before their eyes, and the snow melted into the earth. The forest was thick and lush with towering pines, sweeping willows, and branchy oaks that were simply exploding with green leaves. Every once in a while they would pass a fruit tree that was covered in blossoms, and bushes that were already growing little green berries.

Eventually, they came out of the forest and into a valley of sorts. It was clear and treeless, with two large hills—Anna would go as far as to call them small mountains—on either side of them. Now that they were out of the forest, it was actually quite breezy. A pleasant wind blew past them and pulled a few curly strands from Anna's braid.

It was a few minutes later when they arrived. Tents as far as the eye could see, of all different sizes and colours. Some were smaller sleeping quarters; others were more like open-air pavilions that were clearly meant for keeping men and weapons out of the elements. Anna could see men on horses galloping around inside the camp, as well as other animals and creatures she couldn't recognize from this distance.

The Beavers didn't skip a single beat and kept going right for the camp. The children hesitated a bit, but really, they had no choice but to follow. They had already come so far—there was no turning back now. They crossed the remainder of distance and walked right down the center of the camp.

It was then that Anna got a good look at what was going on. The things that she though was men on horses were not that at all; they were centaurs, half-man, and half-horse. Their human halves were young and fit looking (both men and women, she noted). Their horse haves were golden and light palominos. There were fauns, like Tumnus, and other creatures that looked like walking, muscular goats. There were cheetahs, hogs, bears, horses, and every other kind of animal you could imagine. And most of the creatures wore red and gold coloured armour (the fauns' had holes on their helmet for their horns).

Swords and shield glistened in the afternoon sunlight from where the creatures were working on them. Anna had noticed when they first entered the camp that the sound of hammers hitting metal had rung out over the valley. Now, as she and the other children made their way through the camp, the hammering died down and the creatures who had been working looked up at them. But they didn't just glance—they _stared._

"Why are they all staring at us?" Susan said through her smile.

"Maybe they think _you _look funny," Lucy smirked. Peter and Anna snickered, and Susan subconsciously fixed her hair.

The four children and the beavers walked up to a scarlet and gold striped tent that sat at the base of a rocky hill. It was on a small ledge, raising it up slightly like a platform. A centaur stood on the platform, and he looked down at them as they approached. He appeared to be some sort of leader; perhaps the captain of the army, Anna thought. His hair, eyes, and horse-half were dark, and he looked at the humans with a stern and curious expression. Peter looked him and unsheathed his sword.

"We have come to see Aslan," he said, somewhat nervously.

The centaur said nothing, but he nodded to the scarlet and yellow tent. Anna looked at it curiously, hoping that however this Aslan person was he really could help them get Edmund back. She was becoming more fidgety every hour that he wasn't with them. She hoped—she _prayed_—that he was still alive. She felt a wave of sadness hit her, and had to breathe in to force away the negative thoughts.

Anna turned around when she heard the noise of people moving. All around, the Narnians were going on their knees, bowing their heads in reverence. She looked at Susan and Peter, wondering if they should be doing the same.

Before they had time too, someone began immerging from the tent. First a paw, then a snout, and then a thick, golden mane. A large Lion walked out, and he was the most terribly magnificent thing you could ever imagine. Anna got goose bumps looking at him. She knew at once that this was Aslan, but he did not look as she expected. She honestly expected a strong, heroic looking man, or some sort of supernatural being that looked like an ancient Greek god. She was expecting a tall, muscular being that glowed with power and radiated strength.

But for some reason, a Lion just seemed much more fitting.

The four children looked at each other, and then they too went to their knees, bowing respectfully to the lion. They stayed like that for a few seconds, until Aslan spoke.

"Welcome Peter, Son of Adam," the lion said in a deep, powerful, yet equally graceful voice. "Welcome, Susan, Anna, and Lucy, Daughters of Eve."

_How does he know our names_? Anna wondered for a moment. It seemed so curious that this Lion that they were only just meeting somehow knew who they were. But if he was the King of the whole Wood like Beaver had said, it just made sense that he would know everyone who came here. Even a few children from the other side of the wardrobe.

"And welcome to you too, Beavers. You have my thanks," (Anna was sure that if Beavers could blush, Mrs. Beaver would be red as a tomato), "But where is the second Son of Adam?

"That's why we're here, sir," Peter said, standing up and sheathing his sword. Everyone else followed in suit. "We need your help."

"We had a little trouble along the way," Susan said. After a brief pause, Peter finished.

"Our brother's been captured by the White Witch," Peter said gravely, and the Narnians behind them gasped and murmured.

"Captured?" Aslan asked. "How could this have happened?"

Peter and Susan down-casted their heads. Anna and Lucy looked at each other with worried expressions. None of the children were all that eager to speak of what had happened with Edmund.

Thankfully, it was Beaver who spoke.

"He…betrayed them, Your Majesty," he said grimly.

There were more gasps this time than when the Narnians had heard that Edmund had been captured. This time, Anna down-casted her head. She didn't like the thought of Edmund betraying them, even though he _had_.

"Then he has betrayed us all!" the centaur captain exclaimed from where he stood.

"Peace, Oreius," Aslan half-spoke, half-growled. "I'm sure there's an explanation."

Again, the children were silent. Really, Anna didn't fully understand why Edmund had gone willingly to the Witch. He had seemed distracted, sort of distant just before he went missing. Perhaps he was under her spell. Or maybe she had threatened him. But Anna, who was as loyal as a badger when it came to her friends, was utterly unable to even assume that it was somehow Edmund's own fault he was kidnapped.

"It's my fault, really," Peter said softly. "I was too hard on him."

Susan gently put her hand on her brother's shoulder. "We all were."

Aslan regarded them sadly and nodded his head to show he heard. But his expression told them that he understood completely, and that the matter was passed.

"Sir, he's our brother," Lucy said. And everyone around could hear the soft pleading note in her words.

"I know, dear one," Aslan said sadly. "But that only makes his betrayal all the worse. This may be harder than you think."

"But you will help him, won't you, sir?" Anna asked. "You'll try?"

Aslan regarded the children sadly once again, and nodded. "We will do all we can for Edmund."

Anna chewed on her lip. Aslan was a magnificent beast, but the way he spoke made Anna feel no more hopeful about getting Edmund back than she had a few hours ago. But she was willing to trust him—he was their only hope, after all.

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><p>"Just one more…and…There you are!"<p>

The dryad who had been hemming Anna's dress took and step back and allowed Anna to turn and look at herself in the full length mirror. Shortly after they were finished talking with Aslan, several dryads had whisked away the girls and set out to fitting them in the nicest gowns they had lying about. Susan had gone first, changing into a forest green dress, and Lucy had been fitted to a bluish gray dress right after.

It had been Anna's turn to have the dryad attending to her, and she had liked the experience so far. She stood on a little pedestal while the dryad measured and mumbled to herself in some strange language that reminded Anna of leaves rustling in the wind. After a good fifteen minutes of fusing with her dress, hair, and shoes, she had announced that Anna was done. The girl turned and looked at herself in the mirror. What she saw made her smile.

Anna couldn't have picked a better dress herself, truly. The gown selected by the dryad was blue, with floral embroidery done in gold thread around the sleeves and collar. It went down to her ankles, and the sleeves flared out a bit at the wrist so they weren't tight. The slippers on her feet were leather with velvet soles for comfort, and they laced around her ankle. Pieces of her curly hair had been braided back and were woven with flowers and vines, but the rest of left down around her shoulders. All in all, she truly felt like a fairytale princess.

"Wow," she breathed, "I look…"

"Lovely," came a deep voice from the tent flap. Both Anna and the dryad attendant turned around and saw Aslan himself standing with his head and front paws poking in the tent.

"Narnia suits you well," he said.

"Th-thank you, sir," Anna said shyly. She carefully stepped off the pedestal (making sure not to trip over the bottom of her dress) and faced Aslan, studying the ground instead of his face.

"A moment, Bluewillow, if you will," he said to the dryad attendant, who was still staring at Anna in the same way an artist might look at his finished masterpiece.

"Of course, Your Majesty," she said, giving Aslan a bow and gracefully striding out of the tent, leaving Anna and Aslan alone.

"There are a few things we must discuss, young one," he said at last.

He walked over to the armchair and sat in front of it. Anna took the hint and sat in the armchair itself, but would not meet his eyes. It was not that she didn't like Aslan, for she liked him much indeed. But really, who could blame her for being nervous? There was a difference between talking to a wonderful Lion like Aslan with a large group around and talking with him alone. She only stared at her hands in her lap, similarly to the way she had when she had been on the train that took her to Professor Kirke's house.

Oh, how much has changed since then.

"Why do you not look at me, child?" Aslan asked.

"O-oh, sorry," Anna said quickly, snapping her head up and meet the Lion's great golden eyes. When she looked at them, she felt a sudden urge to tell him the exact truth. "I-I just wasn't sure…I mean, with me being here…"

"You doubt your place in Narnia," Aslan finished for her.

She nodded. "It's just that the prophecy…it speaks of two boys and two girls."

"This is true," Aslan agreed.

"And, well…I'm here. That makes three girls."

"So it does," he agreed once again. "Now, tell me this, young one: why does that make you doubt your place here anymore than the other children's?"

"Well, it's just because the prophecy says that four children would come to Narnia, and only four children. And it has to mean the Pevensies. They're siblings. I mean, it would make more sense than three siblings and one stranger." She paused, thought for a while about where she was going with this, and finished, "I just…know, in my heart that I'm not part of the prophecy. It's about the Pevensies, I just know it."

Aslan nodded. "Most of what you say is true. The prophecy is about the Pevensies, but I do not think you fully understand what the prophecy is. The Ancient prophecy speaks of two Sons of Adam and two Daughters of Eve breaking the Witch's spell. It does not, however, say that only two Sons of Adam and only two Daughters of Eve would come to Narnia."

"I-I...I don't think I understand," Anna said.

"When the prophecy was made at the Beginning of Narnia, it said that the Evil that now presided over the land would be defeated by two Sons of Adam and two Daughters of Eve. But it does not say exactly how many humans would come to Narnia during its time of need. It only says how many will defeat the Witch. This is to say that an indefinite number of Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve could come during this time. Do understand what I say, child?"

Anna nodded a bit unsurely, and Aslan could see that.

"If you do not, don't be afraid to say so," he told her.

"Well, I do understand what you're saying, sir," Anna said, "but why would more people come to Narnia than is needed?"

"That would be for them to figure out on their own," Aslan said.

Anna nodded. "But Aslan, I…" she sighed. "I don't feel like I belong here. I feel like I _don't_ serve a purpose. Is that wrong, sir? Should I be feeling like this?"

Aslan shook his head lightly. "On the contrary, child—if you would be feeling anything but doubt, it would be wrong." He paused, and then said, "It is true, though, that you were not originally part of the plan for Narnia."

"Oh," Anna said crestfallenly. "So, does that mean…I came here by accident?"

"No one comes to Narnia by accident, child," Aslan said. "Each and every person who has walked or is walking on Narnian soil has a purpose in its history. Some perhaps more than others, but a purpose nonetheless. Even though you were not originally in Narnia's plan, now that you are here your purpose is just as clear as the Pevensies."

"And what's that, sir?" Anna asked after a brief silence.

Aslan smiled at her. "In time, dear one. Your role in Narnia will become clear eventually. As I have said before, it is something you will figure out on your own."

"Oh," Anna said somewhat awkwardly. She wasn't sure what else she was to say, really. And she was surprised; Aslan had said the exact same thing that Father Christmas said when he gave her the dagger. _In time, dear one._

In time _what_?

"But, I must tell you (though I'm sure you've guessed) that you will not be coroneted with the other children when the time comes. There are only four thrones at Cair Paravel, one for each of the Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve that were prophesized to defeat the White Witch," Aslan said.

"Yes, I sort of figured," Anna said, looking at her lap sadly. She had assumed that much, but to hear it confirmed by Aslan himself just made her feel a bit crestfallen.

"But that is not to say that you will _never _be a queen of Narnia," Aslan said.

"But…what do you mean? You just said that I wouldn't be coroneted with the other children," Anna pointed out.

Aslan chuckled, but he was not making fun of her. "Have you forgotten those fairytales you love so well, child? You know there are more than one ways of becoming a queen."

Anna nodded, even though she still didn't fully understand what he was talking about. She did know this, but she didn't know how many different ways there were. She knew that you could be coroneted by the people, or if you took over a kingdom you would become its queen. And of course, if you married a prince and he became king, you would become queen. But that was all she knew of.

Truly, though, she wasn't really focusing on that. She was thinking about how Aslan said that she would not be crowned along with the Pevensies. That would make them Kings and Queens, rulers of a whole nation. But where did that leave her?

"If you don't mind me asking, sir, what will I do after this is all over? Will I…go back to England on my own?" She couldn't imagine trying to explain to the professor where the other kids were. _Well, you see, sir_, she would say_, they're currently ruling as Kings and Queens in that little country in your upstairs wardrobe. Shall we have lunch, then?_

"If you choose to," Aslan said. "Or you may remain here and serve as an adviser to them. After all, every good monarchy has wonderful advisers backing them."

Anna smiled at Aslan. "I think I would like that very much."

Aslan returned her smile. "I thought you might. Now," he stood up and took a few steps back, "I must go and see the others. When you are ready, young one, you should go out and speak with a centaur named Rosemane. I believe you will find her to be a good help to you."

Aslan bowed his head slightly in a goodbye, and started for the tent flap. Just as he was about to exit, Anna called out to him.

"Aslan?" she said. Aslan turned and looked her, waiting for her to speak.

"Aslan, why…why did Edmund go with her? The Witch, I mean," she asked.

"That is Edmund's story, child, and only his to know," Aslan replied. "If he wishes to tell you about it, he will, when the time is right. For now, all I can say is that Edmund's attitude towards his brother and sisters had a great effect in his betrayal, and that you yourself could probably understand what he was feeling. Did you not talk to him about your own family, not too long ago?"

Anna didn't even have time to wonder how Aslan knew that, because the realization that he was right hit her first. She remembered the conversation, the one in the cubby hole when she and Edmund had swiped the sweets, and how she had said some rather rude things about her family, namely Heather and her stepmother, Priscilla.

She thought about them, and for the first time in a long while (maybe ever, though she didn't realize it), Anna put herself in their shoes. What had they done to ever deserve her hate? Truly, Helena and Martin were not always polite to her, but most of the time it was she who started the fights with them. William was usually nice and patient with her, but there were times when he cracked, and it was because of Anna's constant remarks that he did so. And Heather; well, she was always kind to Anna. As mean as Anna was to her on almost a daily basis, that little girl never stopped trying to be Anna's friend, never said a bad word about her. Heather honestly loved her older sister, even if Anna never returned the feeling.

And of course, there was Priscilla herself. Anna's stepmother had never been anything but accepting and loving to Anna. Even when Anna would roll her eyes, talk back, or say the most horrible things she could think of to hurt Priscilla, the woman never lost her temper with Anna. Everything she had ever done—given her a nice room, bought her lovely dresses, making sure she got the best education—had been because she truly loved Anna, and just wanted Anna to feel welcome. She had only ever been wonderful to Anna, and Anna was a prig in return.

Thinking back on all of that, Anna felt a sense of guilt way down on her. She had treated them unfairly. They certainly didn't deserve her hatred, not by a longshot. But that was what Anna had given them, and she felt terrible about it.

"Oh, Aslan," she said softly. "I'm so sorry."

"It is not me you should apologize to," Aslan replied. "I know your folly; and I know that you're truly sorry. It's to your family you must apologize to." He paused, and finished, "Remember that, young one."

Anna didn't have the time to stop Aslan this time. He turned after that last remarked and stride out of the tent, leaving Anna alone with a swimming head. She wanted a distraction, something to stop her from thinking about the guilt that was now in the back of her mind and pestering other, more pleasant thoughts. She stepped out of the tent and decided to take Aslan's previous advice; to find this centaur, Rosemane.

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><p>She wasn't hard to find at all. All Anna had to do was ask a Red dwarf who was working on his sword, and he pointed Anna in the direction of the centaur she was looking for. When she walked up to Rosemane, very cautiously (centaurs are naturally intimidating, you see), she saw that the female centaur was not working on a sword or armour like the others were. Rather, she had set out before her an array of knives and daggers of all different sizes and styles.<p>

"Um…hullo," Anna said nervously.

Rosemane turned her human half around a bit (Anna had come up from behind her), and after she saw the young girl who had approached her, turned around completely.

"Ah, hallo there," the centaur said cheerfully, "Are you Anna or Lucy, then?"

"I'm Anna, ma'am," she replied.

Rosemane waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. "No need for formalities. Just call me Rosemane. Or captain, if you must use titles."

"Yes, m—I mean, captain," Anna said. Rosemane smiled at her, and Anna felt that she was a likable sort of person. Her hair was strawberry blonde and went down her back in loose waves, and her eyes were sparkling and green. Her smile was warm and inviting, and her horse-half was tan.

"Aslan said you wanted to see me?" Anna asked.

Rosemane smiled, almost in disbelief. "Did he, now? How very curious. I never actually _said _I wanted to see you, or the little Princess Lucy, but I have been thinking that I'd like to chat with you since I saw you humans enter the camp. Aslan's very funny that way—he knows his people well enough to know just what they're thinking."

Rosemane paused, waiting for Anna to reply, but Anna, suddenly shy in the presence of a centaur, only smiled and nodded. Rosemane didn't mind, though, and went right to explaining to her why she wanted to see her.

"Well, why I wanted to talk to you is because I couldn't help but noticed the nice daggers that you and Princess Lucy wore on your belts," Rosemane remarked. Anna didn't have her dagger belt on now, but she knew right where it was; on her bed, under the pillow for same-keeping.

"Father Christmas gave them to us," Anna said, and Rosemane smiled.

"So I've heard. He gave my grandmother this dagger," she patted to the one she had strapped to her human-half waist, "And she gave it to me when I was thirteen. I'm sure that Father Christmas explained to you well that daggers are tools, not toys?"

"Yes, m—captain," Anna replied.

"Very good," Rosemane said. Then she bent down low so that she wasn't as much looking own at Anna as she was looking at her face-to-face. "Now listen; what I wanted to tell you and the Princess Lucy is this." Her face was very serious as she spoke.

"Women are, as you may or may not know, not allowed to fully participate in the battles. They say that battles tend to turn ugly when women are involved. Really, the most we are allowed to do is tend to the wounded, or at most join the archers," Rosemane said, with a slight edge of bitterness in her tone.

Anna nodded in understanding. She knew this even from living in England. That was why the men enlisted in the army, and the women stayed home with the children. She had heard Helena talking about it on one particular occasion, calling it sexist, but Anna was certain that even if women were allowed to fight, Helena would never go to battle.

"And I'm sure that General Oreius will try to get you and the other two girls to stay out of the battle with all of his power." When Rosemane said Oreius' name, Anna heard her voice change slightly. She couldn't quite place the change, but it was definitely there. "But, Anna; I want you and the other girls to participate."

The blood drained from Anna's face. "What?"

"Hear me out, please," Rosemane said quickly. "I'm not making you, not by a longshot. But General Oreius never lets the women do anything in battle besides join the archers. That includes me, and truly, I don't enjoy archery. I'd do much better on the field than with the archers. And I figured, with some proper training, that Princess Susan would fit right in with the archers. And you and Princess Lucy could learn how to use your daggers to defend yourselves in battle. I'd be willing to teach you myself."

Anna now shifted uncomfortably. She didn't like where this conversation was going. She had never, ever assumed she would be forced to battle. The thought terrified her, truly.

Rosemane saw the look in Anna's eyes and understood all this. "Listen, Anna," she grabbed the girl's chin so that she was looking right at Anna's brown eyes, "If you truly do not wish to fight, I won't force you. I just assumed that you and the other girls might want to."

Anna nodded gently. "I-if it's all right…I'd rather not battle," she said softly, trying to sound braver than she felt.

Rosemane, upon seeing that she had truly upset the girl, sighed a bit. "I'm sorry I brought it up. It was wrong of me to assume that you would want to fight."

Anna shook her head, dismissing the apology. "It's alright, you didn't know."

"Yes, but I shouldn't have assumed." Rosemane absentmindedly arranged her daggers, trying not to look concerned. Then she looked up, and there was a small smile on her face. "It doesn't matter if you don't want to battle. It doesn't make you a coward, either. Really, I think it's braver for you to admit that you didn't want to than to go through with it just because I wanted you too."

Anna didn't care for one moment if she looked like a coward, and she wasn't quite sure what bravery had to do with it, either. She supposed that it was just the way warriors thought; they were all so concerned with honour and bravery, and expected everyone else to be the same. Still, Anna could tell that beneath her smile, Rosemane was a bit disappointed. For what, Anna wasn't even entirely sure. Could she really be upset that Anna didn't want to fight? Or was it because of something else? Quickly, she said the first thing that came to mind that might make the centaur perk up.

"Rosemane? Even though I don't want to battle, will you still teach me how to use my dagger?" She really had no idea how to use it properly, and she figured it wouldn't hurt to learn how.

Rosemane's face lit up considerably. "Of course I will! Go get it now, and I'll show you some basic techniques."

Anna nodded and dashed for the tent. She pulled the belt out from under her pillow and flung it over her shoulder, not bothering to put around her waist, and ran back to Rosemane. When she got back, she noticed that the centaur's table of daggers was overturned, and a plump Red dwarf—the same one that had given Anna directions—was helping Rosemane pick the knives off the ground.

"Huffin!" Rosemane huffed. "Look what you've done!"

"Sorry, cap'in," the dwarf muttered. "Truly, I am."

"By the Lion, Huffin, do stop mumbling and pick up those daggers!"

Something in Anna's brain clicked at that statement. "What did you just say, Rosemane?"

"I told this sputtering fool to quit talking to himself and pick up my daggers!" she said. "Quickly, I just polished them!"

"No, about the Lion," Anna said, shaking her hands a bit.

Rosemane titled her head, and her soft blonde waves cascading down her left side. "You mean 'By the Lion?'"

"Yes, that," Anna said. "What does it mean?"

"Well, it means…," Rosemane scratched her head. "Huh. I can't say I really know, to be honest."

"It's an exclamatory gesture that we Narnians use when we're angry or exasperated," Huffin said. "Or both." He took a glance at Rosemane, and then quickly went back to collecting the last of the knives. "You won't 'ear anyone south or north of Narnia sayin' it, though. Ain't no Calormene alive that'd use Aslan's name, even in anger."

"So it's about Aslan then?" Anna asked. "And only Narnians say it?"

"That'd be right, lass," Huffin replied, standing up and set the last of the fallen knives on the now upturned table. "I ain't never heard a bloody proud southerner utter the name of Aslan, 'cept to curse _'im_."

"Oh, enough of your idle chit-chat, Huffin," Rosemane said. "Go on, now. Get back to your sword. You've done enough damage here."

Huffin tried to defend himself after this, and him and Rosemane got into a little argument. Anna was only half-listening, though. She was thinking over what Huffin had just told her about the little phrase Rosemane had said. She remembered, from forever ago, when Professor Kirke had uttered the same words after he found out he was late. That was very curious, considering that Huffin had said specifically that only Narnians say it.

Was it possible that Professor Kirke had been to Narnia before? After all, the children's entrance here, the wardrobe in the spare room, _was _in his house. Could he have somehow found his way into Narnia, before the children did? It did seem the only possible explanation for him using a statement that only Narnians were supposed to know. But, then again, what if the professor _himself _was a Narnian? What if he had come through the other side of the wardrobe, the Narnian side, and had become trapped in England? What if—

But Anna's what ifs and Rosemane and Huffin's argument was cut short by a sound vibrating through the camp. A high, trumpet-like sound rung, out, and everyone's head snapped up. From the hilltop not too far from where Anna was standing, Peter took off running, yelling something like "Oh no, Susan!" Anna made the connection in her mind quickly.

"Susan!" Anna yelled, taking off the same way Peter had.

She ran for a bit until she came through a few trees and to the bank of a little creek. What she saw on the other side made her heart stop. Susan and Lucy were up in a tree, and Peter stood on the ground, with his sword out. But circling him were two enormous wolves. One of them, she recognized, was Maugrim.

Before anything bad could happen, a swarm of people rushed past her. Centaurs, leopards, fauns, and a great Lion all ran across the river. Aslan held one of the wolves down, leaving Maugrim to continue to circle Peter. The next thing Anna knew, Maugrim pounced on him.

"Peter, no!" she shouted, going to run across the river to his aide, but some strong arms wrapped around her and held her back.

"Stop!" Rosemane hissed in her ear.

Anna struggled a bit, but didn't make a large effort to pull from Rosemane's iron grip. She watched with watery eyes as Susan and Lucy jumped out of the tree and pushed Maugrim off of Peter. For the first time, Anna noticed that Peter had stabbed the wolf, and that he was dead. But what about Peter? She whispered over and over again "Please don't be dead. Please don't be dead." But soon, Peter sat up; looking bewildered, and pulled his sister's into a hug. Anna breathed a sigh of relief, and Rosemane released her. Aslan let the wolf he had under his paw go. The wolf whimpered and whined and took off running into the brush.

"After him!" Aslan commanded. When Oreius furrowed his brow at him, Aslan said, "He'll lead you to Edmund."

Oreius nodded, and he and his troops went pounding in the direction the wolf had taken. Rosemane patted Anna on the back and went galloping after them. Anna ran across the river, and once on the other side, threw herself at Peter. She hugged him as tight and dried her tears on his tunic. He hugged her back, and when she finally pulled away, he smiled at her.

"Peter," Aslan's deep voice broke in. "Clean your sword."

Peter wiped his sword clean of blood in the grass. After this, Aslan gestured for him to kneel. He did this, with his head bowed and his sword in his hands. Aslan put a great paw on his shoulders.

"Rise, Sir Pete Wolfsbane," Aslan said, "Knight of Narnia."

Peter's face was one of shook, disbelief, and happiness. He looked at the girls, who were standing at his left, and they smiled at him. Sisterly pride was in Susan and Lucy's eyes, pride for a friend in Anna's, and pride for a child in Aslan's.

And Anna, not one to miss little details, couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement at what Aslan had said to Oreius. _He'll lead you to Edmund_. It was like music to her ears. They would have Edmund back in a few hours, and to Anna, that made all the panic, the guilt, and the nervousness of the day worth something.

* * *

><p><strong>The other story I'm working on, as I mentioned I was working two stories, is called <em>The Lady Knight Book 1: The Battles for Narnia. <em>It's going to be the first story in _The Lady Knight Trilogy. _I'm going to be putting a preview/teaser for it at the end of chapter thirteen. Anybody wants to read the summary for it, I have it on my profile.**

**Is it wrong of me to ask you to please review? :}**


	12. Author's Note! Undergoing Major Revision

To my wonderful readers,

As of 7/24/12, this story will be undergoing major revision. The basic plot is still going to be the same, but the chapters are going to be edited and rewritten. Some parts will basically stay the same, but some will be completely different.

I have no idea how long this revision work is going to take—anywhere from a number of days to a number of weeks, depending on how things work out for my schedule. I really will try to get everything completed very quickly.

I'm terribly sorry, especially for those of you who loved the story as it was and were looking forward to the coming chapters. You guys have been the best readers a person could ask for. But I'm not completely comfortable with how the story has been going, and I'd really like to make the adjustments.

If you would like a notification when the revision work is over and it's good to go again, just leave a review telling me so, or PM me. I'll leave a note on my profile when it's completed, if you'd like to check there as well.

Sorry for the inconvenience, and thank you for your patience.

Signed,

x Queen Angie


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